Lord of the Bombs
by ShizukaRakugaki44
Summary: Essentially a reinterpretation of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the universe of Team Fortress 2, but this story takes place in the far future after RED vs. BLU and Mann vs. Machine. While the technologies of the past have declined, there is still magic, and a few weapons remain as well.
1. Prologue

Prologue: The Story of the One Bomb

_It is written in the electronic records at the Nucleus Spytech facility that a long time ago, there was a wealthy Englishman named Zepheniah Mann. He had two sons, Redmond and Blutarch, and an aide named Barnabas Hale. While Redmond and Blutarch constantly competed for his inheritance, Zepheniah had secretly decided that he would leave the company to Barnabas. So when Zepheniah passed away, Redmond and Blutarch were left with nothing, and so they created their own companies called RED (Reliable Excavation Demolition) and BLU (Builders League United), respectfully. To protect their interests, they hired teams of mercenaries with different skill sets to sabotage each others' companies, and this inner war went on for several years while the Hale family provided weapons for both sides of the conflict._

_Then one day, a mysterious woman appeared and offered powerful bombs to the Mann brothers and the Hales in exchange for peace. The Mann brothers accepted them gladly, but ended up using them in further conflicts, while the Hales never used the one they had. But none of them knew that another bomb existed. Forged in the factories aboard the Moving Fortress (the place where the Robots emerge from), this bomb was more destructive than the other bombs combined and yet small enough to fit into a man's coat-pocket. The creator of this One Bomb was Gray Mann, a third son of Zepheniah who was kidnapped as an infant and never mentioned again by his father. Without warning, he assassinated Redmond and Blutarch, thereby causing all their mercenaries, who were clones of the originals at this point, to become unemployed. Then he attacked the areas RED and BLU owned with armies of Robots._

_So an alliance between the Hales and the cloned mercenaries was made, and they fought against the Robot army. Many lives were lost, including the Demoman Eallair, who was slain by Gray Mann himself. So his secretly-conceived son, Iomhar, took his father's broken __Claidheamh Mòr__ sword and killed Gray Mann by destroying the Australium that powered his artificial body. However, the One Bomb was still intact, and when Iomhar had the chance to destroy it, he didn't. Instead, Iomhar took it with him on his journey back to Scotland, but along the way he was attacked by lingering Robot Snipers. _

_As a fatal arrow caused his body to fall into the river near Lumberyard, the One Bomb swept away and lay in the shallows for centuries undamaged until it was found by a strange creature called Mumble, who was neither man nor animal. He took the One Bomb to the mountains near Coldfront, and there it remained with him for many more years. Then, the bomb was found by an unlikely person. His name was Bobbie Billows, a Scout from the Harvest area in the Farmland environment. He was on a quest with a group of thirteen Engineers who were trying to reclaim a factory that had once belonged to them, but that is another story. What is important is that the world is changing, and the Scouts are the catalysts of that change…_

End of Prologue


	2. Chapter 1: Concerning Scouts

Chapter 1: Concerning Scouts

Outside of Harvest, a horse-driven cart was making its way toward the gates at a slow pace. The man driving it was a Medic, which was defined by his white overcoat, red gloves, and black wide-brimmed hat. He was just passing beneath a bare tree when a young Scout jumped down from its high branches and tapped the Medic's hat lightly with a wooden bat.

"Hey, Gerald," the young Scout said snidely. "You're late."

The Medic, Gerald, looked slowly up at the young Scout, revealing a long gray beard, and said, "A Medic is never late, but only if he chooses to, Freddie Billows."

In response, the young Scout Freddie laughed and so did Gerald as they shook hands. Then Freddie sat next to Gerald as they approached Harvest when a group of children appeared from underneath a rusted pick-up truck. They swarmed around the cart and begged Gerald to show them magic. Gerald chuckled a little and waved a hand over his chest, which caused a small book with a mean-looking face on it to emerge. Next, he tossed the book up into the air, which exploded harmlessly in mid-air. The children were delighted, allowing Gerald and Freddie to move straight on into Harvest, which consisted of small and large barns arranged in clusters with a square shed between them.

"Freddie, I've noticed that the men and women have been giving me odd looks since we've entered," Gerald said, noticing a grumpy Scout giving him the stink-eye.

"Oh, that's because the people around here think you bring trouble," Freddie answered nonchalantly. "Ever since you sent my uncle on that adventure."

"If you're referring to that incident with the Giant Robot, I did not send him on the adventure," Gerald corrected. "I merely got Bobbie to leave the house. Speaking of which, how has he been?"

"Fine, but lately he's been acting weird. I think he's planning something, and you know what it is!"

"What makes you think that?"

"Cuz you're a Medic, and Medics are supposed to know things, right?"

"I am a medicine man, not a mind-reader."

"Then why do you dabble in magic?"

"Sometimes, medicine cannot solve everything."

"Yeah, whatever. I'll see you later at the party," Freddie said as he jumped off the cart and ran to meet up with some Scouts that were his age.

Then Gerald made a sudden turn into an alley between two barns, and found a small side-shed with a sign on top that said, 'Billows Residence: Do Not Disturb'. Gerald, ignoring the sign, parked the cart near a pile of hay which the horse ate gladly and then knocked on the door with his Freedom Staff. There came a series of angry shouts, then the shed door was opened to reveal a middle-aged Scout with a balding head, an over-sized red T-shirt, baggy pants, and worn-out sneakers.

"Gerald," the middle-aged Scout said, as if he couldn't believe what he saw.

"Bobbie Billows, my old friend," Gerald replied, and heartily hugged the shorter Scout.

As the two walked inside, the middle-aged Scout, Bobbie, said, "It's been many years since your last visit. Would you like something to eat? Something to drink?"

"I would prefer coffee, thank you," Gerald said as he sat in one of the chairs around a small table in the middle of the shed.

"All right, I'll get you some in a minute." Bobbie closed the shed door behind him and locked it. Then after looking out the window, he said, "I apologize for the shouting. It's just that all my relatives have been bugging me non-stop since I'm getting old, like I'm going to die soon. So, I've decided that I'm going through with my plan."

"I see. Freddie suspects something, you know."

"Of course he does! He's a Billows, for God's sake!" Bobbie shouted as he poured what remained of the pot he had just brewed into a clean cup.

After Gerald received the coffee-filled cup from Bobbie, he asked, "So you're leaving everything to him?"

"Yes, yes, I wouldn't trust this house to anyone else, especially not the Satchel-Billows'. Ever since I returned from Thunder Mountain, those money-grubbing fiends think I have treasure locked away in here somewhere, even though there isn't."

"You do seem stressed in the mind. Would you like some 'special' medicine before the party?"

Once Gerald pulled out two joints, Bobbie said, "Yeah. That would be nice."

Later that evening, the Scout men and women of Harvest gathered inside the square shed, where there were lots of tables set with food and beverages while a group of musicians played guitars, violins, and small drums. Couples danced across the floor before a large platform close to the back where a large circular floor-light that once represented the Control Point from the days of RED and BLU (RED vs. BLU) illuminated a table with a large cake on it. Freddie was helping himself to a variety of sodas when he noticed a Scout with a thick curl of hair at the top of his head wearing a blue T-shirt sitting by himself. Recognizing him, Freddie walked up to him and said, "Steve, what's eating you?"

"It's nothing, Freddie, I'm just too nervous to dance," Steve replied, staring at the dance-floor with longing eyes.

When Freddie traced Steve's gaze, he noticed a young female Scout wearing a long red skirt who was dancing at the center while people cheered at her from every angle.

"Oh, I get it," Freddie said leering at Steve. "You're just too nervous to dance because Rachel's out there."

Noticing Freddie's leering, Steve replied, "If you're getting ideas, Freddie, I don't want to be a part of them."

But before Steve could protest, Freddie pulled him up by his bandaged wrists and dragged him onto the dance-floor. Meanwhile, Bobbie was busy telling the children about his encounter with three Bird-Headed men (mercentaries wearing the halloween cosmetic item where you get bird heads), who tied him and the thirteen Engineers in large sacks. They were going to cook them for food, when Gerald showed up and turned the three into stone. As the children clapped after he had finished his story, there were two Scouts that were Freddie and Steve's age sneaking out of the shed. One had dark-brown hair with a red and white-striped headband while the other had crazy blond hair. They made their way to Gerald's cart, and started rummaging through all the bags and boxes that were placed on it.

"I thought you said the Bombinomicon was here, Mickey," said the Scout with the crazy blond hair who was standing on the back of the cart.

"Well how hard can it be to find a big book with a bomb on the cover?" replied the Scout with the headband, glancing every now and then at the shed where the party was. "What's the matter, Patten, you frickin stupid?"

"I'm not stupid, Mickey, I'm just not finding it," Then something caught Patten's eye, and he said, "Hey, wait a minute, there's something back here and it's book-shaped."

"That must be it!" Mickey exclaimed, and leaped up onto the cart.

With both hands, Patten pulled an enormous book out from underneath a large crate. It was exactly like the one Gerald had used to amuse the children earlier, but bigger. Once the book was completely exposed, the eyes on the cover lit up, followed by a voice.

"_Aw, man, thanks for getting me out from under those crates, Gerald_," the book said with relief. Then when it levitated itself upward facing the two Scouts, it said, "_Hey, you're not Gerald. Where is that old quack?_"

"Gerald is _not_ a quack!" shouted Patten.

"_Whoa, whoa, take it easy! I was just kidding, man!_" replied the Bombinomicon. "_Now how about some fireworks? That's what you want to see, right?_"

"Yeah, how did you know?" asked Mickey.

"_The Bombinomicon knows everything, my friend! Even your innermost desires!_"

"That's enough, Bombinomicon!"

A flash of white light came out of nowhere, blinding Mickey and Patten, and when they looked again, the Bombinomicon had vanished, as if it was never on the back of the cart in the first place. Then someone came up from behind the two Scouts and grabbed them by the collars of their shirts.

"Michael Bourbon, and Patterson Tyke," growled Gerald. "Don't ever play with forces that you don't comprehend!"

"Yes, sir," both Scouts whimpered.

As the party drew to a close, Bobbie was called up onto the platform to blow out all fifty-six candles on the cake and make a speech. Everyone cheered as Bobbie blew them all out in one swoop, and then he addressed all the families that were present. Afterwards, there was silence as Bobbie cleared his throat.

Then in a clear voice, Bobbie said, "As you all know, today is my fifty-sixth birthday, which would've been unusual during the days of RED and BLU. Even the clones from the Machine Wars (Mann vs. Machine) would never have lived as long as I have, but those violent days are behind us! We now live in a time of peace and prosperity. Let us hope it stays that way!"

The older Scouts cheered loudly at these words, and some of the young ones joined in as well, including Freddie.

"So for this reason, I…" Bobbie paused, and fiddled with something from one of his pant-pockets. "…I feel that the young shouldn't have to inherit the burdens of the old, but some things can't be helped. Goodbye."

Then in a split second, Bobbie vanished before everyone's eyes, which made the women gasp and the men's eyes widened. But after the initial shock, they all clapped and cheered, believing it to be some kind of trick. So the dancing and feasting resumed, while Bobbie, who was actually invisible, walked quickly back to his house, and once he was safely inside, he reappeared by pressing the button on a small watch he had in his hand. Unfortunately, Gerald was there too.

"_Dummkopf_ (Idiot)! Do you realize what you've done?!" asked Gerald in an angry tone.

"I gave them a good scare!" Then Bobbie laughed briefly. But when Gerald's expression didn't change, Bobbie sighed, "Look, I was only having a little fun. Lighten up!"

"Spy technology is not something to toy with," Gerald said, and held his hand out. "Now give it to me."

"Why?" Bobbie asked.

"You said you were going to give Freddie 'everything', right? That includes the watch."

"No, you can't have it, it's mine I tell you, MINE!" But as he spoke, he gripped the watch so tightly that he accidentally pressed a button that made him drop it. Then something fell out of the back of the watch, and it surprised Gerald more than Bobbie. It was a bomb, similar to the ones that were pushed in carts during the days of RED and BLU, only much smaller, and it was attached to a gold chain. While Gerald was fascinated, Bobbie leaned down to pick up the two items.

"If you don't leave now, the people will come looking for you," Gerald said in a commanding tone.

So reluctantly, Bobbie left the watch and the miniature bomb on the floor, grabbed the pack and walking stick he had already laid out by the door, and left.

End of Chapter 1


	3. Chapter 2: The Gray Past of a Mann

**I apologize in advance, but there's going to be a lot of exposition in this chapter!**

Chapter 2: The Gray Past of a Mann

As the happy laughter and cheer echoed throughout the shed that used to be where the RED team began their operations, now turned into Harvest's main tavern, Freddie's thoughts drifted back to the day his uncle disappeared ten years ago. He had found Gerald looking curiously at a strange watch and miniature bomb attached to a gold chain without touching them. Naturally, Freddie picked them both up off the floor and asked Gerald a series of questions regarding Bobbie's disappearance and what the two items were. In turn, Gerald explained that the watch was a device used by Spies that allowed them to become temporarily invisible. But as for the miniature bomb, he knew nothing, so Gerald told Freddie that he would journey to Nucleus, which held the largest electronic database in the world, and look for information on the bomb there. He also told Freddie to keep the miniature bomb locked away and never tell anyone about it.

"What's the matter, Freddie?" Steve asked, sitting directly across from Freddie. "You look worried."

"It's nothing, Steve," Freddie said taking a swig of Scrumpy cider. "I was just thinking about Gerald. He said he would be back soon."

"That Medic is always running late, so I wouldn't worry about it."

"I suppose."

###

Later that night, when Freddie got home, he found his front-door to be unlocked, and immediately went inside. The shed was dark, except for the stove-fire which was on for some reason. Then, Gerald appeared and he shook Freddie violently.

"Is it secret? Is it locked away?" asked Gerald anxiously.

"Yeah, yeah, the bomb's over here," Freddie said, trying to sound calm as he took the miniature bomb out of an empty jar he had hidden in the pantry.

He gave it to Gerald, who grabbed the miniature bomb by the chain, and turned on a nearby lamp. Next, he held the bomb close to the lamp, as if he were reading something. Freddie watched him with fascination and after a long while, he asked, "What does it say?"

"It says 'GM', which stands for Gray Mann," Gerald said, then he scratched his beard. "So this is the One."

"The one what? You're not making sense!" Freddie said impatiently.

"How much do you know about the Machine Wars?"

"Why are you asking that? What do the Machine Wars have to do with the bomb?"

"Because this little bomb was the same one that Gray Mann created in secret and threatened to destroy the world with."

"But wasn't Gray Mann killed? How is the bomb here, in my house?"

"Gray Mann was killed, but the bomb remained, because Iomhar, son of the Demoman Eallair and the first conceived child of a clone, took it with him instead of destroying it. If he had destroyed the bomb back then, it wouldn't be here now. But anyway, the reason Iomhar kept it was because he had hoped it could be used as leverage to allow Scotland to become a truly independent nation from Britain. However, he was assassinated before he could realize his dream, and so the bomb was swept down a river till it ended up near Lumberyard where Mumble found it."

"I heard Bobbie mention him once, but he never talked about it. Who was he?"

Before Gerald continued, he took a large pipe out from his coat-pocket and lit it. After taking a good whiff, he continued, "Mumble was once a Scout known as Samuel, who had killed his Pyro friend Diesel over the bomb because he thought it should be his since it was his birthday at the time. Then out of guilt, he took Diesel's mask, put it on himself, and ran towards the mountains near the Coldfront area with the bomb in his possession. There, he developed a strong love and fear of the bomb, knowing that it was powerful but was always careful with it. I suppose the bomb could've remained with him, but fate had decided otherwise, because forty years ago, your uncle found the bomb by chance as he was wandering aimlessly through the mountains after getting separated from the thirteen Engineers and me."

Freddie gave Gerald a confused look. "But how did he find it? Wasn't it on Mumble?"

"Yes, the bomb was on Mumble's person, but he had the misfortune of losing it after killing a Cyborg (Engineer with a robotic arm) for food. So, Bobbie found it, and eventually ran into Mumble. To keep himself from being eaten, as Mumble was a cannibal by this point, Bobbie challenged him to a game. For a while, the game went smoothly, until Bobbie decided to cheat and stole the bomb from Mumble."

For a while, Freddie said nothing. Gerald watched him with a tired expression, so Freddie decided to make them both coffee. After a few sips, Freddie said, "So why is this stuff important? Is there something going on out there?"

"Lots of strange things have been happening since I left ten years ago," Gerald replied. "The people who live near the southernmost areas claim they have seen smoke from the Moving Fortress that Gray Mann once operated, there have been more newly-made Robots sited as well, and there is a black van that is making its way toward Harvest."

"I've heard about this black van too, from strangers who've passed through Harvest. Why is it coming here?"

"A short while ago, Mumble was captured by some Robots from the Moving Fortress, where they tortured him for information. He in turn told them about Bobbie, the bomb, and Harvest."

"Aw, crap, I've got to leave!" Freddie exclaimed. "Where should I go?"

"Shh," Gerald said, and stood up. "I thought I heard someone moving near the window."

Before Freddie could ask him who it was, Gerald quickly took out his Syringe Gun and fired it at the open windowsill, where a cry was heard, forcing the Scout who was hiding outside to stand up. Before the Scout could set himself free, Gerald dashed over to the windowsill, and grabbed him. Freddie reacted and brought the lamp over to get a good look at the Scout who was eavesdropping. It was Steve.

"Steven Gangrene, I should've known," Gerald said, and threw him down onto the floor, pointing the Syringe Gun near his neck. "How much did you hear? What were you doing outside the windowsill?!"

Steve was scared out of his wits, but he answered, "I-I-I was just stopping by to make sure Freddie made it home. H-He did have three Scrumpy ciders, which is a little more than what he usually drinks. Then I heard voices, so I-I walked up to the windowsill. I-I didn't mean to eavesdrop! All I heard was s-something about a bomb and s-some Robots."

"Don't hurt him, Gerald," Freddie said, looking at Gerald. "He meant no harm in what he did."

"Yes, and that is why I will spare him for now," Gerald said, lowering the Syringe Gun. "But he shall be punished by going with you to 2Fort."

"2Fort? What for? What's going on, Freddie?" Steve said as he got up.

"You must pack up immediately and be ready to leave by dawn," Gerald said to Freddie, ignoring Steve's questions. "Once you get to 2Fort, wait for me at the Upgrade Station."

"Where will you be going?" Freddie asked as he started to gather the things he needed for the journey.

"I'll be going to see Merasmus the Black, the man who taught me the art of magic and whom I sent the Bombinomicon Micheal and Patterson tried to tamper with back to. He'll know what to do."

"All right, but what if you don't show up when you're supposed to?"

"If that happens, there will be someone waiting there in my place, and trust me, you won't have trouble recognizing him. In the meantime, do not touch the light on the bomb's topside, and avoid the roads at all cost!"

"Well that advice doesn't help much," Steve complained, but Gerald ignored him once more and left without a moment to lose.

So reluctantly, Steve went back to his own home, packed the things he needed, and met up with Freddie near the eastern entrance to Harvest as the sky was getting lighter. The two briefly exchanged glances, and then took off running south from the east road. Dust kicked up in the wake of their feet, and they only stopped for soda breaks as they quickly made their way to 2Fort, which was still a long ways away.

End of Chapter 2


	4. Chapter 3: The Black Van

Chapter 3: The Betrayal of Hightower and the Black Van

In three days, Gerald managed to reach Hightower by hitchhiking on various vans. There, he was greeted by Merasmus the Black, who appeared out of thin air. Like his name, he wore nothing but a black robe with a matching scarf that covered the bottom half of his face, a dark wooden staff, and he wore a horned skull for a hat.

"Greetings, Gerald the Red," Merasmus said in a booming voice.

"Greetings to you, Merasmus the Black," Gerald replied, politely nodding.

"What brings you to my humble tower?"

"I have urgent business to discuss, and it concerns a certain bomb."

Merasmus raised one of his eyebrows. "You don't mean 'that' bomb, do you?"

"Yes, I do."

After a quick glance, Merasmus gestured Gerald to follow him into the main tower, and so Gerald did. Inside, they walked up a series of stairs until they came to a small room with a platform outside that overlooked the two large buildings that once served as the RED and BLU bases. There, Merasmus, who had been floating this whole time, touched the ground and stood a couple heads taller than Gerald.

"So, where did you find it?" Merasmus asked.

Gerald sighed, and said, "In the home of a Scout friend of mine from Harvest. He had taken it from Mumble, who had been holding onto the bomb for years, which he found in the same stream that Iomhar drowned in after being shot several times by Robot Sniper arrows."

"When you say Scout friend, are you referring to Bobbie Billows? The one who went with those thirteen Engineers on that foolish quest to Thunder Mountain?"

"You are correct, Merasmus, and the quest was not foolish. If it weren't for them, we'd be having a Giant Robot to deal with on top of the dozens of new Robots that have been spotted lately."

"Yes, I too have heard the rumors, but how did you let something as powerful as this bomb slip under your nose?"

"It was hidden inside an Invis Watch, which Bobbie found in a horde left by the Bird-Headed men I turned to stone. He must have put the bomb inside the watch so that I wouldn't find it."

"How very clever of him, for a Scout, that is. Do you, by chance, have the bomb with you?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Then who has it?"

"Why are you interested? Don't tell me _you_ want to possess it for yourself?"

"No, not for myself, but for Gray Mann."

"But he's dead!"

"Not quite." Merasmus then conjured the Bombinomicon, flipped to a random page, and produced a floating eyeball with Gray Mann's face for a pupil. "You see, his spirit has become restless over the centuries, and we both know that ghosts with unfinished business cannot be laid to rest until they have fulfilled their purpose."

"And you would help him? I thought you believed in magic, not science!" Gerald shouted as he regarded the eyeball with disgust. "His presence will make people like you obsolete!"

"Yes, you are right, but if I help him, he might make an exception for me," Merasmus replied calmly as he closed the Bombinomicon while the eyeball vanished. "If you join me, Gerald, he might make an exception for you too."

"I would rather die than make a deal with that madman!" Gerald said firmly, and put his Freedom Staff into a defensive position.

His prediction came true when Merasmus sent a blast of energy right at him, forcing Gerald against the interior wall of the tower. In turn, Gerald sent a blast of energy from his staff, which sent Merasmus flying, but he managed to catch himself by floating once more. After a few more energy blasts were exchanged, Merasmus managed to disarm Gerald and force the Freedom Staff to come to him. Then using both staffs, Merasmus sent Gerald up to the top of the tower and left him there.

"If you will not tell me who has the bomb now, then I'll find him myself," Merasmus taunted, floating above Gerald. "The Monoculous sees everything!"

After a brief series of maniacal laughs, Merasmus teleported away, leaving Gerald stranded on the tower.

###

In a dry cornfield a few miles from Harvest, Freddie and Steve had to slow down and quietly walk through in order to not get the attention of Pancake, a very old Scout who lived in a farm nearby, and he did not take kindly to trespassers. Despite his age, he could run just as fast as the younger Scouts, which made him feared by many. So when Freddie and Steve heard fast footsteps approaching, they immediately crouched down and stuck their feet out to trip Pancake so they could have enough time to make a run for it. But what they tripped were two pairs of feet that belonged to none other than Mickey and Patten.

"Oh, what's up?" Mickey asked, trying to hide the obvious sack of apples.

"What are you two doing all the way out here?" Patten followed.

"We should be asking the same to you," Steve said, kicking the sack out of Mickey's hands. "You were stealing from Pancake's orchard, weren't you?"

"Hey, we were starving, and his apples are way too good to go to waste!" Mickey said defensively.

Then all four of them were stunned when they heard corn plants being trampled. Figuring Pancake was really angry, they all hightailed out of the cornfield and wound up running alongside the eastern road that went all the way to 2Fort. After they had put a few more miles between them and Pancake, the four Scouts rested at the road's edge.

The silence was broken by the sound of Mickey's stomach growling. "Aw, I hate running on an empty stomach."

"Hey, look, there's some ripe berries over there!" Patten cried, and rushed over to a bush filled with ripe black raspberries.

"Well don't eat all of them, will you?" Steve said, taking a few handfuls himself.

While Mickey, Patten, and Steve helped themselves to the berries, Freddie soon realized where they were, and then he heard the sound of wheels against dirt, and saw a cloud of dust being kicked up by the dark silhouette of a van. He automatically knew what it was.

"Uh, guys, I think we should get off the road," Freddie said in a serious tone, getting the three Scout's attention.

"Why? Do you see a car coming?" asked Mickey.

"Yeah, but it isn't friendly," replied Freddie as hid behind the bare tree.

The other three followed his example, and soon a black van drove right past them. None of them dared to look at the windows or the passenger's side. But just when they thought it was gone, the black van halted a few feet down the road, and they heard a car-door being opened and closed. As the four moved around the tree in order to not be seen, they caught a glimpse of the man heading towards them. He looked like a Heavy, but he wore a black uniform and matching dark shades. Meanwhile, Freddie kept looking at the miniature bomb, which was hanging around his neck next to the dog tags with his mother and father's initials, and was almost tempted to touch the little blue light on top of the bomb's surface. But remembering Gerald's advice, Freddie did not do it. The dark-clad Heavy briefly glanced on either side of the tree, then down at the roots, until an ear-piercing whistle made him turn away and walk back to the van.

"_The Heavy's gone, we can move now_," Steve whispered as the black van drove away.

"What the hell was that crap?" Patten exclaimed.

"And your explanation had better be good," Mickey added.

So reluctantly, Freddie and Steve told Mickey and Patten about the One Bomb, and how they were planning to meet Gerald at the Upgrade Station in 2Fort where they would hopefully be relieved of the bomb. After the explanation, Mickey and Patten offered to come with them. Initially, Freddie and Steve refused out of fear for their safety, but they insisted that they could help them along the way.

End of Chapter 3


	5. Chapter 4: The Upgrade Station

Chapter 4: At the Sign of the Upgrade Station

A few days later, the four Scouts made it to 2Fort, and approached the Upgrade Station by the RED base. There, they were greeted by an older-looking Heavy with a long dark-brown beard, who didn't see them immediately until they shouted at him. When he looked down, he made a sharp laugh.

"I haven't seen little men like you in long time," the Heavy said. "I am the RED Upgrade Station's owner, Borislav. What brings you to 2Fort?"

"We came from Harvest," said Freddie, trying to keep his anger in check. "We're friends of Gerald, and he said he would meet us here at the Upgrade Station."

"Oh, I see. Well come in, and make yourselves comfortable!"

The Heavy Borislav stepped aside so the four Scouts could enter. While the Upgrade Station mainly served as 2Fort's main pub, it still upgraded weapons for its namesake. After they chose a table near a stack of crates, Borislav immediately handed them four Scrumpys.

"Uh, excuse me, have you seen Gerald lately?" Freddie asked, getting Borislav's attention.

In turn, Borislav shook his head. "I haven't seen him in over a week, and he's usually a regular customer."

After Borislav left to deal with another table, Steve sighed and said, "This wasn't how things were supposed to go."

"Yeah, and we nearly got killed getting here," Mickey added, downing his Scrumpy in one gulp.

"Didn't Gerald say something about a friend that would meet us if he couldn't make it?" asked Patten.

"Uh-huh, and he said I wouldn't have trouble recognizing him," Freddie answered, sipping his Scrumpy. He made a quick glance around the room, but no one seemed out of place.

Then in the far back near a window, Freddie noticed a very tall man wearing a blue Demoman uniform and a matching hood that shaded his face. But despite the hood, Freddie could see one eye keeping a steady gaze on him. So he turned away, but as the night wore on, Freddie still felt like he was being watched. Steve noticed the man too, and leaned in close to Freddie.

"_Freddie, that man's been staring at you all night_," Steve said. "_Do you think he might be after the bomb?_"

"_What gave you that impression? He's not wearing black like that Heavy guy_." Freddie looked around, and waved Borislav over.

"_I know, but he's still suspicious to me_."

"Hey, Borislav," Freddie said once Borislav was hovering over them. "Who is that man in the corner?"

"Him?" Borislav looked at the man Freddie was pointing to, and made a worried frown. "He is one of the few Demomen left in this country, ever since the Robots started killing them many years ago."

"But why would Robots be interested in – oh," Freddie said, realizing that the Robots must have assumed the One Bomb was with the Demomen after they couldn't find it on Iomhar's body.

"Because of their misfortune, they are known for bringing bad luck wherever they go," Borislav continued. "That man in particular has been hanging around here for some time, and since he's never bothered to introduce himself, the people have started calling him Cyclops. I suggest you stay away from him if you can."

With that warning in mind, the four quickly finished their Scrumpys and decided to pay for their drinks and meal. As Steve and the other two went to the cash register, Freddie cleared the table and just as he was heading toward the disposal, someone tripped him. He didn't see whose foot it was, but he immediately lost his balance falling headfirst toward the floor. While the bottles and plates crashed on the floor, Freddie managed to save himself by placing his hands out in front of him. The impact hurt, but what caught Freddie's attention was that the bomb on its chain popped out from under his shirt. He quickly got on his knees and grabbed it, but when he opened his palm, the blue light was blinking. A sharp squeeze on his left shoulder made him look up, where he saw the Demoman, Cyclops, looking down at him.

"Press the light again to turn it off, and come with me if you want to live," said Cyclops quietly.

Freddie did as Cyclops said, and the blue light did stop blinking. While the other men watched Cyclops leave, Steve, Mickey, and Patten helped Freddie up. They managed to drag him away from the crowd before they noticed Cyclops standing near the exit to the Upgrade Station, looking at them.

"Uh, I think he wants us to follow," Freddie said after a brief shock.

"But we don't know if we can trust him," Steve insisted. "What did he say to you?"

"He told me to come with him if he wanted me to live," Freddie replied, and then he whispered, "_When I tripped, I accidently pressed the light on the bomb, and it started blinking. Then Cyclops showed up and told me to press it again, and it stopped. He clearly knows more about the bomb than we do, and I want to know why_."

"_All right, but it'll be your fault if he turns out to be working with the Robots_," Steve said firmly, and called Mickey and Patten over.

The four of them followed Cyclops a little ways behind him, and eventually they found themselves in a locker-room where the RED mercenaries used to be cloned to continue their battles. There, Cyclops turned to face them, and removed his hood. Underneath, he was wearing a black cap to cover his close-cut hair and a patch over his left-eye. He gestured them to sit on the benches, which they did, while he leaned against a locker.

"How did four ignorant Scouts like yourselves come to possess the most powerful bomb ever made by man?" Cyclops asked bluntly.

"Why should that interest you, pal? It's none of your business!" Steve said defensively.

"On the contrary. After all, I am a Demoman, and bombs are my trade," Cyclops said, downing a bottle of Scrumpy he had taken with him from the Upgrade Station. "I am also acquainted with a certain Medic who was supposed to be here a week ago."

"You know Gerald?" Mickey asked.

"Don't let him fool you. He could've been simply overhearing us," Steve said, reaching for his bat.

Cyclops noticed and said, "I wouldn't draw that bat if I were you. If you do, I'll blow you to bits right here and now."

"Don't antagonize him, Steve, he clearly means it," Freddie said. After Steve let his hand fall, Freddie asked, "Before we answer your question, I would like to ask you a few questions. How did you know how to turn off the blinking light? How do you know Gerald? And are you working with the Robots from the Moving Fortress?"

"I see you don't trust me," Cyclops said, taking another sip of Scrumpy. "To begin with, I am _not_ working with the Robots. Why would I help the monsters that have been killing members of my Class for years? Second, my knowledge of the One Bomb comes from Gerald, whom I helped several times including tracking Mumble to find out what he knew. Satisfied?"

"Uh, yeah, though they weren't what I expected," Freddie replied, feeling guilty. "I inherited the bomb from my uncle, Bobbie Billows, who stole it from Mumble forty years ago during a quest which took him over the mountains near Coldfront. When Gerald learned of the bomb's true nature, he told me and Steve to come here and wait for him. The other two, Mickey and Patten, just sort of came along after we had a run-in with a black van."

Suddenly, Cyclops crushed the bottle in his hands, and his right eye widened. "A black van? Did you see anyone coming out of it?"

"Yeah, a Heavy, but he wore dark shades, and his clothes were black as well," Freddie answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Did he see you?"

"No, but he almost did if it weren't for a random whistle that came out of nowhere."

"That must've come from one of the others in the van, telling the Heavy to call off the search when they weren't getting the signal."

"The signal?"

"If the light on the bomb's topside gets pressed, it starts the countdown for the bomb to go off, which sends a signal to the Androids, and the Heavy you saw was one of them."

"Androids? I've never heard of those."

"They're Robots created in the likeness of the original nine mercenaries Redmond hired before Blutarch secretly cloned them for his team. They are programmed to only obey Gray Mann, even after death, and retrieve the One Bomb at all costs."

"But if pressing the light starts the countdown, how come the bomb hasn't gone off yet?"

"By pressing the light again, the countdown halts due to a safety mechanism Gray Mann installed in case the bomb gets set off prematurely before its intended explosion. But there's no guarantee how long the safety mechanism will last, so I suggest you avoid touching the light altogether from now on. Now, if you trust me, I would like you four to tell me your names."

Freddie looked at the others, who all unanimously nodded, though more reluctantly on Steve's part, and so they introduced themselves to Cyclops.

"Very well, Freddie, Steve, Mickey, and Patten," Cyclops replied, kicking away the pieces from the Scrumpy bottle that fell on the floor. "Since you've been so patient, I will tell you my real name. I am Aonghus, son of Aonghas, and the unfortunate heir to Iomhar's legacy."

End of Chapter 4


	6. Chapter 5: A Shot in the Dark

Chapter 5: A Shot in the Dark

Later that night, the Demoman Aonghus and the four Scouts made plans to leave the next morning for Watchtower, an area located in a deep ravine near the mountains, and the place where Gerald told Aonghus to take the Scouts to in case he was in trouble. However, as the five left the locker-room, they passed by a window where they saw a black van parked near the RED base. Concerned, Aonghus escorted the Scouts to the sleeping quarters located in a long hallway on the second floor, and then he told them what to do.

"But that's crazy!" said Steve, after Aonghus told them everything. "What if they spot us afterwards?"

"Then run like a mad dogs," Aonghus replied. "Get under the bridge, head for the sewers underneath the BLU base, and wait for me there. I just need to arrange our getaway van."

"How will that stop the Androids from following us?" asked Freddie.

Aonghus chuckled. "While they look human, they're still vulnerable to water."

###

As the night wore on, all seemed quiet in the sleeping quarters, until four figures stepped into the hallway. The largest of the four, who was the same Heavy the Scouts ran into earlier, took out a large Minigun and fired several rounds on all the men sleeping. There were screams of agony and unseen blood being splattered, but the silence that followed afterwards was deafening. While the Android Heavy stood guard, the other three who resembled a Pyro, Sniper, and Spy checked on the bodies.

The four Scouts, who were sleeping behind a cluster of crates the whole time, immediately got up, put on their one-strapped backpacks, and ran as fast as they could to an adjacent door that led to a series of hallways. It didn't take long for the Androids to notice them, and so they left the dying corpses and followed. When they got to the front of the RED base, the four Scouts jumped into the water and swam towards the sewers. Meanwhile, the Androids' heavy footsteps could be heard as they crossed the bridge above the Scouts' heads.

Once they were inside the sewers, they stood ankle-deep in water, and waited. The minutes passed, and the footsteps seemed to falter, but the four Scouts couldn't relax. They knew that despite what Aonghus had promised, they were just sitting ducks. Their prediction seemed to come true when they heard several footsteps heading towards them, with one set of footsteps at the lead, and so they immediately took out their bats. But to their surprise, the leading footsteps turned out to belong to Aonghus, who was wielding an Eyelander sword.

"It looks like the Androids caught onto our plan sooner, so we'll have to make a run for it! The van is waiting near the back of the BLU base," Aonghus said hastily, and so the four Scouts followed him.

Just as they ran out of one sewer and into the other, the Androids came down the stairs that led to the sewers. The five swam out into the water and got up onto the surface where the BLU base was, and then they climbed over the chain-link fence that separated the base from the outside. Once they were over the fence, the five sprinted towards the back of the base where they found a green and white van waiting for them. As the Androids began to climb the fence as well, the five immediately got into the van and drove away.

For two straight days, they drove towards Watchtower, only to stop for bathroom breaks and sleep. The van had a large supply of food, but because the Scouts ate a lot, it wasn't long before the supplies dwindled. By the third day, Aonghus had to resort to hunting for deer in the nearby forests by setting up traps filled with bombs. He managed to catch one, and with some fresh water collected in a running stream, they set off again. But then on the fourth day, the van broke down because of a faulty engine, and so they had to travel on foot to Watchtower, which took slower due to the number of detours they had to make to avoid the roads so the black van nor the Androids could find them.

###

Meanwhile, Gerald watched as Merasmus resurrected the mercenaries that had been buried at the cemetery near Mann Manor, or in the bowels of Hightower. He stripped them of their lingering souls, leaving mindless zombies in their place, and bound them to his will. Then he gave them special uniforms with a skull-shaped insignia on them, and ordered them to find the bodies of Redmond and Blutarch in order to give these zombie mercenaries their proper generals.

The idea of an undead army frightened Gerald, as they would be hard to kill in the war that was inevitably coming. But alas, without his Freedom Staff or Syringe Gun, Gerald was completely helpless. It also didn't help that he was suffering from malnutrition and dehydration after having spent a week up on the central tower. Then when he thought all hope was lost, a miracle occurred in the form of a white dove that flew down from the clouded skies and landed on Gerald's shoulder.

"Are you one of…Archimedes' children?" Gerald asked weakly.

The small bird cooed in response.

"Then tell him to…get here soon."

After the bird made a second cooing, he flew away before Merasmus floated onto the balcony of the tower below Gerald. A couple more days passed, then while Merasmus was busy communicating with the Monoculous of Gray Mann, who was currently controlling the Robots and the Androids via the Moving Fortress's main computer, Gerald was taken away from Hightower on the back of a dove that was the size of a biplane. Though his name was Archimedes, he was actually a mutated descendant of the similarly named dove that belonged to the original Medic, and was the leader of a group of other doves that were about the same size as him. By the time Merasmus noticed, Archimedes was a great distance from Hightower.

"So that is your answer, then?" Merasmus mused as he saw the vanishing white of the bird's feathers. "The next time we meet, Gerald, we will be enemies."

End of Chapter 5


	7. Chapter 6: Flight to Frontier

Chapter 6: Flight to the Frontier Area

A week had passed since the Scouts and Aonghus had escaped the Androids at 2Fort, but they had finally arrived at Watchtower through the side RED used to control. Immediately, Aonghus decided that they would make camp in the towering cabin that served as the cap, where they would be able to see any attackers from all sides. But to be safe, Aonghus ordered that none of the lights in the cap be turned on. For a few days, the Scouts followed these orders, waiting patiently for Gerald to arrive.

"Do you think Gerald will really show up?" Freddie asked Aonghus on the night of the sixth day since they arrived at Watchtower.

"It's hard to say. Either he's in bigger trouble than I thought, or he's already gone ahead of us to Mountain Lab," Aonghus answered, watching as the moon came over the cliffs that surrounded the area.

"Mountain Lab? Isn't that where—

"Yes. That's where the legendary Saxton Hale resides, and he's got a whole army of Snipers guarding the place. I know because I used to live there, when I was a lad," Aonghus sighed, as if some distant memory made him sad.

"I've heard Mountain Lab is supposed to be beautiful."

"Oh, yes, the sunsets and sunrises are gorgeous beyond your wildest dreams, and – hold on, what's that light doing over there?"

Freddie looked to where Aonghus was pointing, and sure enough, there was a small flashlight shining along a side path that was suspended above the small valley below, with two black shapes moving. It didn't take long to figure out who they were. Quickly, Freddie and Steve made their way out the door that led to the side path, and smacked the two Scouts across the back of their heads, causing one of them to drop the flashlight in fright.

"Hey, what's the big deal?" asked Mickey, who was originally holding the flashlight. "Can't a couple of Scouts take a piss in peace?"

While Patten was zipping his pants back on, Steve said, "You realize you could've gotten us killed, right?"

"What if the Androids saw you?" Freddie said, jabbing Mickey on the shoulder. "Then they'd know we're here, dumba**!"

As if on cue, several bullets came flying out of the darkness, forcing the Scouts to run back into the cap area, and duck as the glass shattered and wood splintered all around them. Meanwhile, Aonghus was hiding under the table, loading bombs into his Loose Cannon bomb-launcher. Then through a gap in the constant gunfire, Aonghus managed to launch a few bombs at the attackers, followed by huge explosions. However, since the shots seemed to be coming from every side, Aonghus found himself running in circles around the room. When the explosions ceased, so did the gunshots.

"So, did we win?" asked Patten.

"I don't know. I couldn't see where I was shooting," said Aonghus, putting the Loose Cannon bomb-launcher down. "But I wouldn't be surprised if there were some left, so stay quiet."

The Scouts did as he said, while the sound of cartridges being emptied could be heard. Then, there were numerous bladed weapons being unsheathed or taken out. Nobody moved, but then Patten nearly yelped when he heard footsteps running up the wooden staircase that started at the bottom of the cap.

"Bloody hell! They're coming up here!" Aonghus snapped, taking his Eyelander sword out. "Draw your weapons, lads!"

Immediately, the four Scouts took their bats out, which had been adorned with nails they found during their stay at Watchtower. The footsteps ceased on the step below the landing, then the black mask of the Spy from 2Fort emerged, followed by the Sniper, a Demoman, a Soldier, and a Scout. Like the Android Heavy, these Androids also wore something that obscured their eyes, whether it was shades or hoods, and black garments. While the Android Scout ran in circles around Aonghus, the other four approached the cowering Scouts who were backed into a corner of the cap, away from any of the side paths. Then Steve made the first blow, swinging his nail-covered bat like a madman, causing the Android Sniper to back away. Mickey and Patten followed Steve's example and swung crazily at the Android Soldier and Demoman. Freddie was about to attack when he felt a sharp pain, and was surprised to see the Android Spy appear in front of him with a short knife coming out of his sleeve and into Freddie's right shoulder.

Unfortunately, the other Scouts had been knocked aside by the other Androids, and just as Android Spy was about to grab the One Bomb from Freddie's neck, Aonghus managed to hit the Android Scout in the head with sharp end of the Eyelander sword, causing it to fall. Next, he tore his way through the other Androids, swinging the Eyelander sword around and launching the last of the bombs from the Loose Cannon bomb-launcher. This sent two of the Androids flying out of the windows as the bombs exploded on impact and forced the other two to retreat. Then Aonghus picked up the wounded Freddie and along with the other three Scouts they made their way across one of the side paths and left Watchtower, heading further up into the mountains.

###

For days, they ran across rocky cliffs and through pinewood forests, but the journey was much slower than before not only because of the biting cold but also Freddie's weak condition. It turned out the blade Android Spy used to wound him was tipped with microscopic Robots that were slowly trying to assimilate Freddie into obeying the Androids, and the only cure for it lay in Mountain Lab. In the meantime, Aonghus gave Freddie some stimulants to keep the things from taking over, which did work at first but gradually the length of the effect grew shorter. When Aonghus got tired of carrying Freddie, Steve and the other two Scouts tried their best to carry him, but that only caused them to slow down.

"This sucks on ice!" shouted Mickey, as he, Aonghus, and the other two Scouts sat around a small campfire during early morning before dawn while Freddie lay nearby, twitching in agony. "At this rate, we'll never make it to Mountain Lab!"

"I wouldn't give up yet," Aonghus said, then he sighed. "But I cannot deny that we're running out of time."

"So what are we gonna do? Kill him if he succumbs to the little Robots?" Steve asked.

Aonghus looked between Steve and Freddie. "If it gets that bad, we might have to. I've done all I can for him."

Then suddenly, a bunch of birds flew overhead, followed by heavy footsteps. Knowing it was the Androids again, Aonghus quickly picked up Freddie, while the three Scouts put out the fire and packed up. They quickly ran down the rocky slopes, while gunshots fired behind them. Eventually, the five came to a dirt road that ran along the side of a rocky cliff, and were surprised to find a van similar to the one they used to leave 2Fort in heading straight toward them. But just as they were about to run away, the van stopped, and the driver got out. To their surprise, it was a female Sniper, with long brown hair tied back into a ponytail, wearing a short vest and an equally short red shirt that exposed her waist, with long blue jeans. She tipped her hat up to expose her face, which was finely featured and beautiful to look at in the light of the rising sun.

"Ava Ebony," Aonghus said, though he couldn't believe his eyes. "What the hell are you doing all the way out here?"

"To pick you mates up, of course," the female Sniper, Ava Ebony, said nonchalantly. "My da, Saxton Hale, figured you'd run into trouble, so he sent me to take you to Frontier, and from there, Mountain Lab."

"But you do realize what you're dealing with? If those Androids lay a hand on—

"You can trust me, love," Ava Ebony said, taking Freddie off of Aonghus's shoulders. "I can outrun those mongrels in my sleep. Now let's get bloody going!"

Without questioning her, the three Scouts climbed into the back of the van, while Freddie was placed in the passenger seat next to Ava Ebony. As for Aonghus, he insisted riding on top of the van despite Ava Ebony's wishes so he could keep watch for the Androids. Then no sooner than Ava Ebony started driving along the mountainous road, the black van came riding towards them at incredible speeds. This forced Ava Ebony to drive faster, and make a series a sharp turns while Aonghus was holding on for dear life.

"Sorry, love!" Ava Ebony shouted leaning out the driver's window.

"Don't worry about me, Ava!" Aonghus replied. "But it would help if I had some bombs!"

"I've got you covered, love!" Then Ava Ebony turned her head back to Steve, Mickey, and Patten in the back. "Oi, you! Give me those bombs lying underneath your feet! Don't worry, though, they're not set to go off."

They were a little bit afraid when Ava Ebony asked for the cannonball-shaped bombs, but then they quickly handed as many to her as her freehand could carry. After switching them between hands, Ava Ebony leaned out the driver's window and handed the bombs to Aonghus on the roof. This went on for a couple more rounds despite the road still being twisty, and yet Ava Ebony still managed to keep the van from careening off the edge. As the black van started to close in on them, Aonghus lit one of the bombs and threw it towards the van's hood. There was a deafening explosion, causing vibrations through Ava Ebony's van that sent the three Scouts jumping out of their seats. Freddie jumped in his seat too, but he didn't seem to notice. Ava Ebony looked at Freddie with concern, and speed up even more down a slope that led into a valley that ran all the way up to the Frontier area, which stood like a lonely fort against the taller mountains behind.

From here, the drive was much smoother, but it made them more vulnerable as the Android Sniper started taking shots at Aonghus, despite the black van having smoke coming out of the engine. In retaliation, Aonghus fired back with more bombs, which landed near the van causing it to swerve, and then he threw one right under the van, causing it to explode beneath. The black van tipped over on its side as a result, and was set ablaze. While Aonghus lifted his leather flap in a taunting gesture at the wreckage, Ava Ebony slowed the car down enough to let him back inside as they approached Frontier. As the sun rose higher, the more agonized Freddie became. He was yelling and tossing from side to side while Aonghus tried to keep him steady.

"I think he's losing the fight," Ava Ebony observed, and hit the gas hard.

Then a sudden shot rang out, followed by the sound of a tire exploding, which sent the entire van swerving. Luckily, Ava Ebony managed to prevent it from tipping over, and saw out her side that the Androids were now running on feet, despite their metallic gears and levers showing through the skin. Some of them even had their eyes exposed, which were nothing more than electric blue lights. Immediately, everyone got out of the van and ran the last few miles up to Frontier and over its wooden plank bridge. The Androids followed close behind them, then when Aonghus and the Scouts were running along the bomb-cart tracks that ran through Frontier, Ava Ebony took out her Huntsman bow and fired an arrow at the switch on a rusted Li'l Chew Chew train engine docked on an adjacent track. It immediately sprung to life, and started moving towards them. As it picked up speed, Ava Ebony, Aonghus, and the Scouts got out of its way to see it smash right into the oncoming Androids with its gaping jaw full of sharp teeth. But their victory was celebrated short when Freddie suddenly collapsed onto the ground, and he didn't seem to respond to any attempts at bringing him back to reality.

End of Chapter 6


	8. Chapter 7: Various Meetings

Chapter 7: Various Meetings at Mountain Lab

When Freddie woke up, he was in a feathered bed inside a log-cabin. The first thing he noticed sitting up was Gerald standing next to a window that overlooked an area covered in pinewood forests and scattered buildings. When Gerald looked away and saw Freddie staring at him, he smiled.

"You've been out for three days, Freddie," Gerald said, stepping aside to reveal Steve sleeping in a chair next to the window. "And during that time, Steve never left your side."

"Uh, that's nice and all, but what happened? Why didn't you show up in 2Fort?" Freddie asked, struggling to get out of bed.

"I was…detained. The man who I thought was an ally was really working for the enemy," Gerald replied. "Fortunately, luck was on my side, so I escaped and came here."

"And where is here?"

"Mountain Lab."

###

Later, Freddie reunited with Mickey and Patten, who gave him the whole story of how Ava Ebony showed up just as the Androids were closing in on them, and drove like mad to Frontier while Aonghus kept them busy by throwing bombs at them. Then when they reached Frontier, Ava Ebony activated a train engine that hadn't been used since the days of RED and BLU, which crushed the Androids in its metal teeth. But after Freddie had passed out, Saxton Hale and Gerald conveniently showed up in a van and brought them all to Mountain Lab. While Freddie listened to the two Scouts with interest, he noticed a familiar Scout lying underneath a telephone pole up the dirt road.

"Hey, Bobbie!" Freddie shouted.

Immediately, Bobbie got up, and waved at Freddie. This gesture prompted Freddie to get up from the docking platform he and the other two Scouts were sitting on, and ran over to Bobbie. The old Scout laughed with joy as the two embraced.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Freddie said.

"I'm sorry I left you so suddenly," Bobbie replied, and broke out of the embrace. "But I needed to get away so that I could finish my book. I was originally going to head all the way to Thunder Mountain, but sadly I'm too old to make the journey alone."

"Since when did you start writing a book? What's it called?"

"I started writing it shortly after I got back from my quest to Thunder Mountain, now tell me all about your adventures."

So Freddie told everything that happened to him since Bobbie disappeared from Harvest, until the sun started to sink past the zenith point. Then Freddie went back to his cabin and found Steve waiting for him with a full backpack. But what was even more surprising what that Steve was also holding Freddie's own pack.

"Um, why are you all packed?" Freddie asked, trying to hide his confusion.

Steve tossed Freddie's pack to Freddie and said, "Isn't it obvious? We've completed our task. We brought the bomb here, where it will be safe, so logically, we can now go home."

"But how do you know this place isn't being watched by Robots as we speak?"

"If there were Robots watching the place, Saxton's Snipers would've taken care of them by now. Besides, you nearly got killed carrying that bomb. Don't you want to go back to a simpler, easy-going lifestyle again?"

"Yeah, you got a point there, but let's at least let Gerald know."

Meanwhile, Gerald was having a secret meeting with Saxton, who had not changed much physically since the days of RED and BLU or even the Machine Wars. The reason for this was because he had an artificial body similar to the ones Redmond, Blutarch, and Gray Mann used before their deaths, powered by the same Australium substance. He listened carefully to Gerald's account of Merasmus' treachery, and how Gerald himself barely escaped. Then he said, "We never should've trusted that damn wizard to begin with! He used to attack mercenaries every Halloween, for god's sake!"

"I will admit his past history did make him questionable, but if it weren't for his teachings, we'd all be living in the dark ages," Gerald said hesitantly. "But with his loss, we must find new strengths to combat the threat that looms over us."

Saxton looked at Gerald wearily. "Like who? The Engineers are only concerned with reclaiming their lost prowess as inventors, the Pyros are all mumbling maniacs, the Spies only want more money for their services, the Heavies and Soldiers have got problems of their own, and the Demomen are all but extinct!"

"But we still have Aonghus, and he is the heir to Iomhar's legacy."

"It's for that reason I don't entirely trust him. I was there, you know, when Iomhar killed Gray Mann and obtained the bomb. While the other mercenaries were busy finishing off the last of the Robots, I took Iomhar into the Moving Fortress so he could detonate the bomb in there, and how does he thank me? By not doing the one bloody thing that would've ended Gray Mann and the Robots for good! He selfishly held onto it, and that's what got him killed! So for that reason, my faith in these cloned mercenaries has died."

"Now that's a hypocritical thing to say, considering that you still rely on the descendants of cloned Medics to maintain your artificial body, and the descendants of cloned Snipers to defend this fortress you've hidden yourself in," Gerald said coldly. "If we are to survive this upcoming war, then you must have faith again!"

In response, Saxton sighed and said, "Guess we shouldn't keep the council waiting."

After the two parted, Gerald went and found Freddie, Bobbie, and the other Scouts. He told them that Saxton was holding an important council with representatives of the other Classes in order to decide what to do with the One Bomb, so Bobbie and Freddie were allowed to attend. However, Steve, Mickey, and Patten weren't invited, but they managed to sneak into the command room unnoticed. In there, several men Freddie didn't recognize stood all around the room, sticking to members of their own Class, while Saxton Hale sat in a chair near the old control panels. Aonghus, on the other hand, was leaning on the rails of the command room, and gave a brief nod to Freddie. But soon, the other men noticed, and stared at Freddie from all sides.

End of Chapter 7


	9. Chapter 8: The Council of Saxton

Chapter 8: The Council of Saxton

"Alright, now that our Scouts have shown up, we can begin the council," Saxton said, and waved his hand to a wheeled tray that was placed in the center of the room. "Freddie Billows, you may place the bomb on that tray right there."

Timidly, Freddie took off the necklace with the bomb attached to it, and gingerly placed it on the tray on its side. Everyone stared at the One Bomb with a mix of interest and disgust. Then they all sat in a circle of chairs that had been placed around the tray, with Saxton rolling his chair forward to fill in the last gap.

"Before we get started, I would like to introduce everyone present," Saxton said, and waved his hand to Bobbie, Freddie, Gerald, a blue-dressed Sniper, an Engineer wearing a red shirt with a long ginger-colored beard, a Soldier wearing a red uniform, and Aonghus. "Here, we have Bobbie and Freddie Billows, Gerald the Red, Matthias to represent the Badlands area, Gavin son of Gage, who was one of the thirteen Engineers to accompany Bobbie to Thunder Mountain, Benjamin son of Bigrock's current Sergeant Donathan, and Aonghus son of Aonghas."

Once everyone regarded each other promptly, Saxton continued, "Now that you know the bomb is here, I will briefly fill you in on how it got here. After Iomhar had slain Gray Mann during the last battle of the Machine Wars, he decided to take it with him back to Scotland. Unfortunately, he was assassinated by Robot Snipers, and lost the bomb near a stream, which ran near Lumberyard. There, after several years, the bomb was picked up by Mumble, an insane Scout wearing the mask of a Pyro he killed, who took it when he ran away to the mountains near Coldfront. Then after a few more years, Bobbie Billows here found the bomb when he got separated from his group during the quest to Thunder Mountain, and after that passed it onto Freddie.

"But now, the Moving Fortress has started functioning again, building new Robots and awakening the Androids, which look almost human. The reason for this, according to Gerald, is that the Moving Fortress's main computer is being controlled by the Monoculous, a physical manifestation of Gray Mann's spirit, which has become increasingly restless. Gerald learned all these things during his stay with Merasmus, who is helping the Monoculous by creating a mass army of zombies! Because of the threat of the Androids, Freddie was forced to leave his pleasant home in Harvest and journey to Mountain Lab, despite the danger he was constantly in. For this selfless bravery, I thank him, but now the question remains: what do we do about the bomb? Should we hide it, or destroy it?"

Nobody answered, which made Freddie feel nervous.

"That's the big dilemma, isn't it?" Saxton said. "None of you can afford to keep such a powerful thing in your possession without getting the Robot's attention. For instance, I've recently been getting reports that several Robots have been seen along the borders of Mountain Lab. While I have faith in my Snipers to take care of them, I have doubts about how long they will hold up."

"Then let's stop playing games and destroy the damn thing already!" Gavin said and before anyone could stop him, he took out a Wrench and slammed it down on the bomb.

To everyone's surprise, the bomb didn't explode. Instead, the Wrench bent in half after hitting the bomb's surface. In shock, Gavin dropped the Wrench.

"That just ain't right," Gavin stuttered.

"As you can see by Gavin's unnecessary demonstration, the bomb cannot be destroyed due to its extremely tough exterior," Saxton resumed after Gavin picked his Wrench back up. "Unless it was set to detonate."

"I have an idea!" Benjamin said, raising his hand. "Why don't we use the bomb against Gray Mann _and_ Merasmus? We'd have the advantage, and we could eliminate the two threats at the same time!"

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" Aonghus interrupted. "If you detonated that thing anywhere, a whole area could be destroyed, maybe even the entire country!"

Benjamin glared at Aonghus, though a helmet obscured his eyes. "And why should I listen to you, Demoman?"

"Because he's an expert on bombs, you bloody idiot!" Matthias shouted, standing up. "Why do you think he's called a Demoman? Plus he's the heir of Iomhar's legacy, and I do seem to recall Iomhar had once controlled Bigrock."

"So what? My father has protected Bigrock for twenty years, and I don't hear him wishing the grandson of Iomhar would come to save him!" Benjamin replied boldly.

"I am his great-great-great-great-great grandson, thank you," Aonghus said with irritation.

"Ah, who cares? We're not getting anywhere with all this crap about family lines," said Benjamin, waving his hand dismissively. "I still think my plan is the **best** solution!"

"As tempting as it is to use the One Bomb ourselves, Aonghus does have a point," Saxton interceded. "There's too much risk involved, and we'd be no different than that b****rd Gray Mann."

An eerie silence hung over the room, making everyone uncomfortable.

Then after several minutes, Saxton broke the silence. "There is one possible solution, but I can't guarantee it will work."

"Well let's hear it, then," Gavin said. "Any plan's better than no plan."

"I still think my plan's the better one!" Benjamin shouted.

Saxton paused for a moment, then he said, "During the Machine Wars, the Spies we had in our service had reason to believe that the Moving Fortress is made of the same material the One Bomb is made out of, which would explain why the Fortress hasn't been completely destroyed, only rendered useless until now. So theoretically, if someone could get inside the Moving Fortress and detonate the bomb in there, the explosion could be contained within the Fortress itself. Of course, since the bomb has never been used, we can't guarantee that'll happen. For all I know, the world could really end. But, if any of you are brave enough to take on this dangerous and highly-secretive task, speak now."

"Are you crazy?" Benjamin exclaimed. "You can't just simply waltz into the Moving Fortress and expect that the Robots are just going to sit back!"

"Aw, do I smell fear, mate?" asked Matthias mockingly. "If you're too chicken, then maybe I'll take the bomb for you."

"Like hell I'll let a cold-blooded Sniper take the bomb," Gavin responded, standing up with a Jag Wrench in his hand.

"Oh, yeah, and what makes an egg-headed Engineer like you so special?" Matthias retorted. "I bet you don't even know how to make a decent Sentry."

From there, the whole room erupted into a series of arguments. Matthias and Gavin were arguing with Aonghus trying to break up the two, then Benjamin started yelling at Saxton for no good reason, causing Gerald to have to play mediator between them. As for Bobbie, he just calmly took out a cigarette and started smoking it. Meanwhile, Freddie was constantly staring at the One Bomb, and then a crazy thought came to his head.

"ALRIGHT, _I'LL_ TAKE THE BOMB!" Freddie shouted.

That statement got everyone's attention, forcing everyone to look at Freddie. Even Bobbie was surprised. Saxton turned his enormous square-jaw at Freddie and asked, "What did you say?"

"I'll take the bomb, to the Moving Fortress," Freddie said, hesitating on the last part. "I was able to bring it here, so that gives me some credit. Granted, I almost died, but that shouldn't stop me from trying."

"Do you have a particular route in mind?" Saxton eyed Freddie in a way that made him feel intimidated.

"Uh, I know I need to go south," Freddie answered, and then he looked down. "But, I don't have any particular route to go on."

"Then I'll show you the way," Gerald said, taking a stand next to Freddie.

"Hey, if you're going to dangerous places, then we're coming with you," Steve said, approaching the circle from the dimly lit entrance, followed by Mickey and Patten.

"We stuck our necks out for you before, so we'll expect payback when we all get home," Mickey added, standing next to Freddie, with Patten and Steve beside him.

"You do realize that this quest is going to be even more dangerous, right?" Gerald said, but when the three Scouts gave him stern faces, he sighed, "But I suppose you three would still accompany Freddie regardless."

"Freddie's a brave Scout, Gerald, and that's something to admire," Aonghus said, and knelt before Freddie. "By my sword, I will follow you through hell and back."

Once Aonghus stood stood next to Gerald, Matthias stood up.

"You'll probably need my bow to keep Robots off your tails, mates," Matthias said using his freehand to grab the Huntsman bow that was next to his chair before he took his place behind the three Scouts.

"I may not know how to build a Sentry, let alone a Dispenser, but you've got my wrench to keep you boys covered," Gavin said, and stood next to Matthias with the Jag Wrench in his hand. "Plus, I don't want to let a Sniper take _all_ the credit."

After a brief cursing, Benjamin stood up and joined the group. "I still think we should've gone with _my_ plan, but as Sun Tzu always said, 'If you can't beat them, join them'."

Saxton looked at each of the nine men in the eye, and then he said, "Well, this turned out better than I expected. Four Scouts, a Medic, a Demoman, a Sniper, an Engineer, and a Soldier. Not a bad team considering the circumstances of the quest, so from this day forth, you shall be known to us as the Mercenaries of the Bomb."

End of Chapter 8


	10. Chapter 9: The Bomb Heads South

Chapter 9: The Bomb Heads South

Early the next morning, the nine companions met at the gate near the BLU base. They were all carrying full packs of food, water, and wore blue winter jackets. Saxton was waiting for them there, and Ava Ebony was standing beside him, wearing a less revealing shirt to commemorate their departure.

"I wish you all the best of luck," Saxton said, and then he turned to Ava Ebony. "Do you have something that you'd like to say to these men, Ava?"

"Yeah, I hope you mates all make it back…" Ava Ebony paused, and kept her gaze on Aonghus. "…Alive and well."

Saxton nodded at his daughter, then he tipped his hat in a final salute, and the Mercenaries of the Bomb left like the mists as the sun rose higher. During that time, they managed to get a few miles down the mountain on foot, since they didn't want to risk taking a van. Secrecy was their prime objective, and so the stealthier they were, the better.

In the days that followed, they traveled southward through a valley that opened on the other side of the mountains in order to avoid going through Frontier, which Saxton figured had Robots waiting there to ambush them. The mountain range continued alongside their path, until they came to an abandoned factory called Pipeline. There, they rested on the battlements part of the area. Then right before dawn after their second night in Pipeline, Steve spotted a large cluster of lights heading towards them through the air. Aonghus immediately told everyone who was up to hide and so they retreated into the building next to the battlements. From inside, they watched as dozens of illuminated jack-o-lanterns flew overhead, laughing manically as they went. Once they were gone, everyone immediately packed their things up on Gerald's orders.

"Those were enchanted Halloween Pumpkins, which were probably sent by Merasmus," Gerald said. "But if he's looking for us, that means we'll have to head through Coldfront instead of Granary."

"Aw, and we just got out of the mountains," complained Mickey.

"Why don't we go to Double Cross instead?" asked Gavin, who was already packed. "It's not as high up as Coldfront, and I have a cousin named Brian who runs the place."

"I appreciate the invitation," Gerald said, and then he gripped his Freedom Staff tightly. "But I sense we'll meet more dangers if we go there."

This surprised everyone, especially Gavin.

"What kind of dangers, mate?" Matthias wondered, checking the sharpness of his Kukri knife.

"I'm not sure, but if Coldfront proves too difficult for us, then I'll consider going to Double Cross," replied Gerald, and led the way followed by Freddie, Matthias, Gavin, Mickey, Patten, Benjamin, Steve, and Aonghus in a single file line behind him.

###

A week later, they traversed the wide valley and came to the foot of the mountain where the Coldfront area resided. From there they took an old road that had once been used to allow vans and trucks to get to Coldfront, but since the war between RED and BLU ended, the place had been abandoned, allowing people like Mumble to live there without anyone to bother them. About midway up where the pine-trees were the most heavy, the road branched. One path went to the Double Cross area, while the other continued up toward Coldfront.

Obviously, they took the road leading to Coldfront, but as they climbed, the air started to grow colder, and soon the road was covered in thick layers of snow. Some parts were even frozen over, so the nine men had to watched where they stepped, but Freddie wasn't so lucky. He slipped on a frozen patch that lay on the shadow-side of a big rock, causing him to fall backward and the necklace with the One Bomb on it to fly through the air. Luckily, Benjamin caught the bomb before it fell to the ground, while Mickey and Patten helped Freddie up. When Freddie noticed Benjamin holding the bomb, his eyebrows widened.

"Give that to me," he said as calmly as he could. But when Benjamin didn't hand it over, he shouted, "Give it, you frickin' moron!"

"You'd better hand it back to him, lad," Aonghus said, pinching Benjamin tightly on the shoulder, which startled him.

"Yeah, yeah," Benjamin muttered, giving the bomb back to Freddie.

Then as he walked past Freddie, Benjamin pushed Freddie's winter cap further down on his head. Surprised, Freddie didn't move at first, until Steve pushed him forward. The two trudged forward through the snow to catch up with the others, but stayed far enough back to talk to each other.

"What the hell was that crap?" Steve asked.

"Beats me, but I don't like it," Freddie said, watching Benjamin's towering back.

From that point on, Freddie decided to keep the bomb in a pocket of his winter jacket, and was constantly checking it to make sure the light wasn't flashing. The snow piles kept increasing to the point where the road was barely visible, and it became increasingly difficult to walk in. Then a snowstorm suddenly picked up, forcing the Mercenaries to walk more slowly. Eventually, the snow piled so high that it went all the way up to their torsos. So Benjamin had to take out a Shovel that he had been carrying this whole time, and dig a path for them. This took several hours, and while Gerald used his Medi Gun to keep the men from getting frostbite, the storm didn't seem to want to let up.

"Something about this storm doesn't feel right," Gavin said. "I think we should turn back."

"Now, let's not give up yet," Gerald said, taking a step onto the platform of snow above the path Benjamin had dug. "We should be approaching the area very soon, I think."

But then shortly after he spoke, an avalanche came tumbling down from the cliff next to them, forcing the men to put their backs against the cliff-face. The waves of snow washed over them, and continued further down the mountain slope. Unfortunately, the path Benjamin dug was gone and the snow was now all the way up to their shoulders. Immediately, the four Scouts ran like crazy, causing the snow to part from the force of their fast-moving arms and legs. Once enough of the snow had been cleared, everyone gathered in a circle.

"You see, sawbones! This is exactly what I was talking about!" Gavin said, glaring at Gerald. "If this here cliff wasn't behind us, we would've been rolling down the mountain by now!"

"For once I agree with the Engi," Benjamin said, crossing his arms. "I bet Merasmus is jinxing us with that voodoo magic of his, because he _knows_ we're heading this way!"

"That…maybe true," Gerald looked at everyone present, then his eyes settled on Freddie. "What do you think, Freddie? Should we continue, or go to Double Cross?"

Freddie looked ahead of Gerald at the road, which was now completely buried in snow, and then he looked back the way they came, which wasn't any different.

After a few minutes, he said, "I say we go to Double Cross. Anywhere else is better than here."

End of Chapter 9


	11. Chapter 10: A Journey Through The Sewer

Chapter 10: A Journey through the Sewer

By the time the Mercenaries backtracked and reached the fork again, the overcast sky had grown darker. Despite this, they pressed on down the road that led to Double Cross. Their legs were freezing from trudging through all the snow piles left after the avalanche, and they could barely feel their hands, but once they saw the lights of Double Cross's lamps, the Mercenaries immediately broke into a run. However, their motivation was cut short when they saw that the gate to Double Cross was closed in front of them, and an electric humming filled the air.

"Aw, hell," Gavin cursed. "And the gate can only be opened if we know the password."

"But if the guy who runs this place is your cousin, then shouldn't you know the password, mate?" asked Matthias.

Gavin gritted his teeth. "If I already knew the password, then I wouldn't be complaining right now."

"Dammit! We can't just stand here!" Benjamin said, and noticed a keypad with numbers on it. "Let me try."

Immediately, Gavin blocked Benjamin and said, "Don't even think about it, son. If you type in the wrong password, you'll get fried by the electricity that's running through this fence. My pa told me."

"So what'll we do?" Mickey asked.

"I'll ponder over this for a few minutes," Gerald said, walking up to the keypad. "The password shouldn't be too hard to figure out."

But those minutes soon became hours, and darkness had enveloped the area. Luckily, the clouds parted enough to reveal a full moon rising over the valley below them. It was a pretty sight to watch, though it didn't entirely alleviate the situation they were in. While Benjamin paced nervously back and forth, the Scouts ran around to see if there were any other entrances, but discovered that the entire area of Double Cross was surrounded by the electric fence. Gavin wasn't surprised and eventually stood next to Gerald, trying to help him figure out the password, as Matthias kept a sharp eye out on the woods, claiming he was hearing wheels turning.

"You're just letting the moonlight play tricks on you, boy," Gavin said, watching Matthias scan the dark forest.

"I'm serious, mate!" Matthias replied, taking out his Huntsman bow and placing an arrow onto the string. "Listen!"

So everyone was silent, and they did hear a series of screeching wheels being turned, accompanied by a rumbling engine. While none of them saw anything through the foliage, the noise was indeed getting louder like the Sniper said. Gerald wasn't listening, as he was focused on the riddle, when suddenly he started laughing, making everyone turn to look at him.

"What's so funny, doc?" Benjamin asked.

"The password…it's so simple," Gerald said, barely containing himself. "I can't believe I didn't realize it before."

Then before Gavin could ask him, Gerald punched a series of numbers into the keypad, and the gate opened.

"Whew! Glad that's over," Gavin said as the nine companions walked through the open gate. "But what was the password?"

"Pardner, of course," Gerald said.

They were just about to cross the concrete bridge in front of them when the screeching wheels and low rumbling was soon followed by trees being crushed. The Mercenaries looked behind them, and what they saw was unbelievable. It was a tank, blue in color with an electric eye sticking out of the top, and no cannon strapped to it.

"Taank!" Gerald cried, and ran towards the RED base adjacent to the bridge.

The others followed behind them, and the Robot Tank slowly turned in their direction. Once inside, Gerald led the Mercenaries down below where the underground sewer was located. Then above, a loud explosion caused the ceiling above them to collapse, and the stairs were destroyed in the process. Luckily, they managed to get into the sewer before that happened, and stared at the debris in front of them.

"Uh, did the Tank just explode?" asked Patten.

"Does that mean we're trapped down here?" Freddie looked at Gerald with concern.

Gravely, Gerald nodded. "For the time being. Gavin, do you know where this sewer leads?"

"If my memory is correct, the sewer leads to the Train Bridge, which lies below the concrete one, and across that lies the BLU base," Gavin replied.

"Then let us head for there, and hope that the Robot Tank didn't blow up the concrete bridge," Gerald said, illuminating the dark sewer in front of them with light from his Freedom Staff. "If it did, the Train Bridge might be out of commission."

So the nine Mercenaries traveled as quietly as they could through the water-infested sewer, until they came to a forking pipe, which Gerald did not remember. As he pondered over which sewer to take, Freddie couldn't help but notice a pair of glowing eyes constantly staring at him from the darkness. At first, he thought it might be a dog, but the size of the eyes seemed too large. Eventually, Freddie became too nervous and walked over to Gerald.

"Gerald, what's that thing over there?" Freddie asked, nodding his head in the direction of the eyes.

In turn, Gerald looked at where Freddie nodded his head to and replied, "It is Mumble. He's been following us since we turned back from Coldfront. He knows we have the bomb."

Freddie, surprised, immediately took out the Three-Rune Blade Bobbie gave him before he left Mountain Lab. "Shouldn't we kill him?"

"I don't think we should. There may be a part Grumble has to play in this unfolding story that has yet to happen." Gerald turned back to the fork, and then he snapped his finger. "I think we need to go...left."

Relieved, everyone followed Gerald through the left pipe, but were surprised by what they saw. There were many corpses floating in the water. Most of them were Engineers, while some were Cyborgs, which was recognizable by their robotic arms and eyes despite their Engineer-like appearance. One corpse Gavin immediately recognized, and pulled him out of the water.

"Brian," Gavin whispered, glancing at the blood that covered his cousin from head to toe. "What've they done to you? Why didn't you send any messages for help?"

"Maybe this journal will tell us some things," Gerald said, taking a small book that was sticking out of Brian's tool pocket. Unfortunately, some of the pages tore immediately when Gerald tried to turn them. "But the pages have been soaked in the water for a long time, so the information we seek may not be in here anymore."

"I'm gonna kill those metal-armed sons of bitches when I get my hands on them," growled Gavin, then he proceeded to silently cry underneath the dark goggles he wore.

"Ah, I'm sorry, mate," Matthias said, putting a hand on Gavin's shoulder.

Meanwhile, Benjamin and Aonghus decided to make themselves useful by stacking the bodies into two piles on either side of the sewer. One was for the Engineers and the other for the Cyborgs. As for Brian, they lay his body on top of the Engineer mound, then just as they were about to carry the piles out of the sewer, Gerald exclaimed.

"I have it! I figured out what happened to Brian and the other Engineers here," he said, and recited the page he was on. "'We had just activated the sewers again, but we soon discovered that there were Cyborgs creeping around. We tried to fight them off, but their strength proved too much for us' and the rest of the page is faded. But the last page says, 'We're sitting ducks in here. The Cyborgs have got us cornered, but what worries me more is the shadow that seems to lurk on the edge of our vision. Its growl echoes in here, and our bread supply vanishes as our numbers dwindle with each passing night, or day'."

A loud _bang_ got everyone's attention. It seemed Patten had backed into the edge of the sewer and accidentally hit his bat handle against the pipe. This sent a long echo throughout the sewers, which was followed by silence, and then several feet were heard. Angered, Gerald grabbed Patten by the collar of his shirt, and glared at him.

"You are trying my patience!" yelled Gerald, and then he threw Patten into the water.

End of Chapter 10


	12. Chapter 11: The Bridge of Double Cross

Chapter 11: The Train Bridge of Double Cross

As the footsteps grew louder, the nine Mercenaries armed themselves. The Scouts took out their Bats, minus Freddie who was wielding his Three-Rune Blade, Aonghus unsheathed the Eyelander sword, Benjamin took out his Shovel, Matthias equipped an arrow onto his Huntsman bow, Gerald held his Syringe Gun out, and Gavin took his Jag Wrench out of his tool pocket.

"This is probably how Brian and the Engineers died," Aonghus said, tightening his grip on the Eyelander. "They were cornered here, just like us."

"Aonghus is right," Benjamin responded. "If we're to survive, we need to move!"

"But I hear footsteps coming from both sides of the pipe," Matthias said. "We'll have to fight our way out no matter which way we go."

"Just tell me the direction, and I'll give them a beating they'll never forget," said Gavin, pounding his Jag Wrench lightly in his hand.

"Uh, I understand your need for revenge, pal," Mickey said, holding his Bat high above his head. "But it would also be good if we can stay alive, too."

"Since the entrance to the RED base is blocked by rubble, our only option is to move forward," Gerald said, turning to the pipe perpendicular from the one they came from. "Everyone, get to the Bridge!"

At that, the Mercenaries charged forward down the perpendicular pipe. Further down, they saw a faint light, but there were several figures silhouetted against it, blocking their way. As they got closer, they saw that the figures wore construction worker helmets, red-tinted goggles, and metallic Gunslinger arms.

"Cyborgs!" Matthias shouted, and fired his arrow.

He hit one right between the eyes, causing it to fall over. This in turn made the other Cyborgs angry, and so they charged at the Mercenaries. Aonghus killed several in one swing with his sword, while Benjamin smashed dozens in the face with the Shovel. As for the Scouts, they swung their Bats left and right, knocking the Cyborgs in front of them out of the way. Meanwhile, Gavin was going on a killing spree, pummeling every single Cyborg that came at him till they were nothing but a pulp of blood and metal.

"Don't waste too much time on them!" Gerald shouted, while he fired several syringes all around him. "We need to get out of here!"

"Reinforcements are coming right behind us!" Matthias said in the back, shooting several arrows at the black mass heading towards them.

"Then keep it movin', guys!" shouted Steve, using the heads of the Cyborgs as platforms to run across.

While the other Scouts followed his example, the earth-bound ones took out the Cyborgs that were stunned by the confusion of the head-jumping by either slicing them, pummeling them, or knocking them out completely. Once they got past the wave that was blocking their path, they made a run for the light at the end of the sewer, when a shadow appeared at the other end. It was a Bird-Headed Man, and a large one, being pulled by two Cyborgs with chains. Once they saw the Mercenaries running towards them, the Cyborgs let the chains fall and the Bird-Headed Man came charging at the Mercenaries full-speed. This caused the Mercenaries to stop and hold their weapons in defensive position.

"Wait, I got an idea!" Freddie said. "I just need you to keep the Chicken Kiev Bird-Headed Man distracted!"

Then before any of them could question what he was going to do, Freddie vanished into the darkness. So they did as he asked, and swung their weapons wildly at the Bird-Headed Man as he approached, forcing him to back up. Next, an amazing thing happened. Freddie suddenly appeared on top of the Bird-Headed Man's head and put his Three-Rune Blade at the creature's throat.

"Don't make a move, pally," Freddie said next to the Bird-Headed Man's ear. "Or I'll cut your throat."

The Bird-Headed Man appeared to not listen, and instead started throwing itself against the walls of the sewer, hoping to shake Freddie off. He tried to hold on, but started slipping, and vanished altogether. Mickey and Patten reacted and immediately jumped onto the Bird-Headed Man, smashing him in the head consecutively. This caused the Bird-Headed Man to fall backwards into the water. Further up ahead, the two Cyborgs started running away, but Matthias shot each of them in the head with an arrow. While Mickey and Patten kept hitting the Bird-Headed Man numerous times, Aonghus made the final blow by driving his Eyelander sword right into the Bird-Headed Man's chest. It chirped in pain, and then died. Then the Mercenaries were about to move forward when they noticed two things. One, the Cyborgs that were right behind them before had vanished, and second, Freddie was missing.

"Did you see where he went?" Steve asked, and then he looked at the fallen Bird-Headed Man. "You don't think he—

"Aw, crap." Mickey said, coming to the same conclusion.

"We have to move the body," Aonghus said.

"No need to do that," said Freddie, who appeared out of the shadow of the sewer, alive and undamaged.

"Freddie!" shouted Steve. "How did you do that?"

"I see you are wearing the Invis Watch your uncle used to get out of similar situations," said Gerald, noting the watch Freddie now wore on his left wrist. "He was able to jump onto the Bird-Headed Man's shoulders without being noticed, and was similarly able to avoid being crushed when Mickey and Patten caused the Bird-Headed Man to be knocked down."

Then suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the sewers. It unnerved everyone, especially Gerald. He gripped his Freedom Staff tightly, and turned away from the dark sewer behind them.

"What is it, doc?" asked Matthias. "Something's troubling you."

"I'm afraid that roar we just heard comes from a creature far worse than any Cyborg or Bird-Headed man imaginable," Gerald replied. "I had always assumed it was destroyed in the days of RED and BLU, but clearly, I was mistaken."

"You're not making sense, doc," Benjamin said. "Tell us in plain English what we're dealing with!"

The same roar came again, but it was louder than before. Then, around the corner of the sewer they had just emerged from, a large shadow appeared. It made huge splashes in the water, and its white teeth were visible in the darkness.

"Kamerades (Comrades), we are dealing with…" Gerald paused, and turned to face the shadow. "…The Bread Monster."

At that moment, the shadow roared loudly, and made its way towards them by crawling on green tentacle arms and legs. The Mercenaries immediately made a run for it, and emerged out in the open air where the overhead lamps illuminated the Train Bridge before them. They didn't waste time and quickly crossed the Train Bridge, but at about midway, Gerald stopped. Freddie watched him, but Aonghus pushed Freddie along, and soon everyone except Gerald was standing on the other side of the bridge. Gerald turned and saw the Bread Monster emerge. It was much bigger than it looked in the sewer, and slowly made its way onto the Train Bridge, which creaked under its enormous weight.

"No Monster shall pass!" Gerald shouted, backing up until he was standing above the deep chasm below the Train Bridge. "And I am willing to do whatever it takes!"

"Gerald! What the hell are you doing?" Freddie shouted. "Get over here!"

But Gerald didn't seem to listen as he suddenly turned his Medi Gun on, and let it build up to a Übercharge. While he let the Übercharge from the Medi Gun flood the Train Bridge with power, he used his other hand to slam his Freedom Staff onto the bridge itself. What followed next was an electric explosion of great magnitude that caused the Bread Monster to cry out in pain, and the Train Bridge to collapse. Fortunately, only one part of the bridge fell off, leaving Gerald's side dangling. Afterwards, Gerald sighed, and walked away from the hole before him.

"Gerald! Behind you!" shouted Freddie.

A green tentacle from the falling Bread Monster suddenly appeared and grabbed Gerald by the ankle. He was so surprised that he didn't have time to react. The tentacle pulled him all the way to the edge, but he held on despite letting go of the Freedom Staff and Medi Gun, which both fell into the chasm below.

"Raus! Raus! (Go! Go!)" Gerald said, and then he let himself fall.

"Auugghh!" Freddie exclaimed, trying to run to where Gerald fell, but Aonghus held him back, and shielded him as a sudden series of gunshots came out of nowhere.

It turned out that the Cyborgs, which had retreated from the sewer before the Bread Monster showed up, were now on the concrete bridge, shooting at them with Shotguns. The eight remaining Mercenaries retreated into the sewer of the BLU base behind them, and made their way to the surface from there.

End of Chapter 11


	13. Chapter 12: Gullywash

**I apologize in advance for this chapter being longer than the others, but there's a reason for it.**

Chapter 12: Gullywash

As a new dawn illuminated the eastern sky, the remaining Mercenaries had managed to escape Double Cross and were now resting near a mountain stream. While some mourned over the loss of Gerald more than others, they were all thinking about him. For a while, they had assumed that with his guidance, they would make it in one piece to the Moving Fortress. But now, they weren't so sure.

"I still can't believe he's gone," Freddie muttered.

"He did it to save our lives, lad," Aonghus said reassuringly. "So let's make his spirit proud that his sacrifice wasn't in vain."

"But where do we go?" asked Matthias. "Without Gerald, we're completely lost!"

"The Sniper's right," responded Gavin. "Gerald seemed to know the best way to get to the Moving Fortress undetected."

"Then we'll have to come up with a new path," Aonghus replied and scanned the area around them. "If we go around the mountains, we'll eventually reach a river that will take us into the canyons west of here, and then from there—

A sudden series of laughs came from Benjamin, causing everyone to look at him.

"I know what your plan is," Benjamin said. "You're trying to take us to Gullywash, where that old 'witch' lives."

"What's he talking about?" asked Steve.

"He's referring to the Administrator, son," replied Gavin. "I heard she kept the war between RED and BLU going for the sole purpose of making money, and even blackmailed mercenaries to keep them in line."

"But she also happens to be business partners with Saxton Hale, mate," Matthias noted. "So she can't be entirely bad."

"I know she was well-acquainted with Gerald in the past," Aonghus said, scratching his head. "So I figure that she might be able to help us."

"That doesn't satisfy me in the least!" replied Benjamin. "Now_ I_ think we should head south along this mountain-range for Bigrock! I know we'll all be safer there!"

"If we go to Bigrock, we'll be exposed to the enemy," Aonghus said sternly.

"Yeah, and that's the last thing we want, considering the circumstances!" added Matthias.

"Secrecy is our main objective, lad, or have you forgotten already?" asked Aonghus, glaring past the shadow of Benjamin's army helmet.

"No, I have not." Benjamin said, meeting Aonghus' gaze.

"Good, then let's head for Gullywash," Aonghus said, and immediately grabbed his Eyelander sword and pack.

###

Over the next few days, the eight Mercenaries traveled along the base of the mountains, heading southward. Then when they came to the southernmost mountain, they found a good-sized river that ran down the mountain's western side and into the canyons that lay in the distance. Following the river by night to avoid the heat, and resting in the shade of the trees by day, they eventually came to the mouth of the canyons. They were about to rest, when suddenly they were approached by a group of Snipers wearing purple uniforms with yellow umbrella symbols on their shirts instead of the RED or BLU logo, and had Sniper Rifles aimed directly at their heads.

"I thought Snipers stopped wielding guns long ago," Gavin said, poised to grab his Jag Wrench.

"Most of us have given up the use of Sniper Rifles since the Machine Wars, but the Gullywash ones haven't," Matthias said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Might want to take your hand away from your wrench, mate. One sudden movement and you're dead."

The others followed Matthias' example, and so Gavin did the same.

"We heard that the nine Mercenaries of the Bomb set out from Mountain Lab a month ago," said the leader of the Gullywash Snipers, who wore a purple hood and bandana to cover his head and face. "But I see only eight of you. Where is Gerald the Red?"

"That is a matter we would like to discuss with the Administrator," Aonghus said boldly.

"If it helps, we're friends of Gerald," added Freddie, and immediately regretted his decision when the leader's eyes turned on him.

"And since when did Gerald become friends with Scouts?" the leader asked, then his eyes fell on Gavin. "Let alone Engineers?"

"I don't like your tone, boy," Gavin said, glaring up at the leader. "You have something against my Class?"

"Snipers and Engineers used to get along during the two wars, but ever since then, they've haven't been on good terms," replied the leader, looking now at Matthias. "So I find it surprising to see an Engineer and a Sniper on the same team together."

"If you've got a problem with my friend, then go to hell, wanka!" shouted Matthias.

This statement surprised everyone, especially Gavin, who now looked at Matthias with a mix of confusion and admiration.

"I have nothing against your friend. I was merely stating an observation," said the leader, backing away. "We'll take all of you to the Administrator, but on the condition that you give us your weapons and allow us to blindfold you. Nothing personal, mates, just to insure that the path to Gullywash is kept secret."

"They did this to me the last time I came, so no need to worry," Aonghus said, and gave one of the Gullywash Snipers his Eyelander sword.

Reluctantly, the others did the same and gave up their weapons. Then when it came to the blindfolding, Gavin was the most reluctant, until Matthias convinced him otherwise. Soon, the eight Mercenaries were roughly led by the Gullywash Snipers on a path that ran next to the river, over steep cliffs, and then eventually through a long tunnel. At the tunnel's end, the blindfolds were taken off, and the Mercenaries' weapons were returned to them. Then the eight were led through Gullywash, which consisted of a series of tall buildings built into the cliffs that surrounded the area, while a large courtyard with a bridge on it was fenced on all sides by smaller buildings and walls. It was through one of these walls that the Mercenaries were taken to, and once they were in the courtyard, they saw a figure standing on the control point in the middle of the bridge.

"Friends of Gerald the Red are here to see you, Administrator," said the leader of the Gullywash Snipers, bowing low.

The figure, who was a skinny woman with a large bob of black hair wearing a purple dress and matching heeled shoes, waved her freehand dismissively. In response, the leader bowed again and left the eight Mercenaries alone with the Administrator. Once the footsteps of the leader died out, there was silence. Aonghus was about to speak, but then the Administrator spoke first.

"So, you are friends of Gerald," the Administrator said, turning to face the Mercenaries. She looked to be in her late forties to mid-fifties, with a single patch of white hair on top of her wide brow. "I find that disappointing."

She flicked the cigarette she was smoking away and jumped down from the control point. To everyone's surprise, she was able to land well despite wearing heeled shoes. Then, she looked at every single Mercenary in the eye.

When she came to Aonghus, she asked, "I remember you. Gerald brought you here once, so why isn't he here with you?"

"Gerald is dead, ma'am," Aonghus said, looking down.

"Dead?" The Administrator's eyebrows rose. "How did he die?"

"We were originally heading for Coldfront, but a storm we believe was conjured by Merasmus forced us to turn back. So we attempted to go through Double Cross instead, but there we found a lot of dead Engineers, which we soon found out were slain by Cyborgs living there, and then the Bread Monster appeared. So we made our way across the Train Bridge, but Gerald stayed and caused the Bridge to collapse. At first, only the Bread Monster fell, but then it took him down as well."

"How unfortunate," the Administrator replied, and took out another cigarette. "He was one of the best Medics I knew, but he always did reckless things whenever his 'friends' were in trouble."

"Don't you talk about Gerald like that!" shouted Freddie. "He did what he thought was right!"

This caught the Administrator off-guard, and looked at Freddie sternly. Her eyes were as black as coal stones, causing Freddie to feel intimidated. Then she walked up to him, lit her new cigarette, and blew smoke into his face, causing him to cough.

"So, you're the Bomb Carrier," the Administrator said nonchalantly. When Freddie seemed surprised, she explained, "Your left hand is inside your pocket."

Freddie looked down, and indeed his left hand was inside the left pocket of his trousers, which he placed the bomb in after he and the others left the cold mountains.

"There is no need to be ashamed of it," continued the Administrator. "But if you interrupt me again, I'll reveal every secret you hold dear to everyone present. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Freddie said, looking down.

Satisfied, the Administrator turned to the others. "I will let you stay till your wounds heal, but you must promise to never speak of what happens at this place to anyone who I'm not acquainted with."

"We swear, ma'am!" everyone said.

"Good. Your sleeping quarters are in the RED base."

Then with that, the Administrator walked away, leaving the Mercenaries dumbfounded.

###

"Whew, that woman is stone-cold." Gavin said a few days later as the others were getting ready for bed. "I hope I never have to meet her again after all this is over."

"I agree. She's not very pleasant to be around," replied Matthias. "And yet, you can't help but admire her for maintaining the technologies of the past for this long."

"Yeah, I went to one of her storerooms which had weapons in it and you won't believe how powerful a Rocket Launcher is compared to an everyday Shotgun!" said Benjamin. "Unfortunately, I got caught using it, but I would love to own one of those."

"She probably won't give you one even if you begged and pleaded," Aonghus responded.

"Yeah, yeah." Benjamin was about to go to sleep when he saw a troupe of several Snipers pass by their sleeping quarters, led by the Administrator. "What the hell are they doing?"

"I reckon it's a funeral procession," Matthias answered. "They keep whispering 'Gerald' under their breaths."

"But isn't it kind of odd that the Administrator's leading the procession, considering what she said about Gerald when we first arrived?" said Freddie.

"I wouldn't think too much about it, boy," Gavin said, patting Freddie on the shoulder. "Now let's get some shut-eye."

A few minutes later, everyone was asleep as the moon rose over the cliffs, bathing the red sandstone rock in blue light. The only one who wasn't asleep was Freddie. He had too many things on his mind, and so he decided to wander around Gullywash. When a Sniper blocked his path, he used his unnatural speed to run past them. Eventually, he came to a control panel above the main capture point at the BLU base. Unfortunately, the Administrator was there, staring at one of the computers, and then she looked at him.

"Uh, sorry, ma'am," Freddie apologized. "I couldn't sleep."

But just as he was about to leave, the Administrator got out of her seat, and said, "Before you go, Freddie Billows, I want to show you something."

Freddie looked at her, then at the computer she was waving her hand towards. Out of curiosity, he stepped closer to it, staring at the keypad and then at the blank screen before him. He had never seen this kind of complex machinery at Harvest, let alone 2Fort.

"You've probably never seen of these before," the Administrator said, almost as if she read his mind. "If you ask it a question, it'll come up with the most logical answer."

Surprised, Freddie turned to the Administrator. "Can I ask it _any_ question?"

"Yes. Any question." The Administrator replied.

For a moment, Freddie thought about his question, and then he typed, 'What are the chances that four Scouts, a Demoman, a Sniper, an Engineer, and a Soldier will make it to the Moving Fortress?'.

Clicks and whirs accompanied flashing lights as the computer typed out the answer. It said, '_The chances of making it to the Moving Fortress when the party consists of four Scouts, a Demoman, a Sniper, an Engineer, and a Soldier are five to one_'.

Looking at the numbers, Freddie was disheartened, but he then typed, 'What are the chances that four Scouts, a Demoman, a Sniper, an Engineer, and a Soldier will make it out of the Moving Fortress?'

More clicks and whirs followed, but at higher rates than before. Then after several minutes, the computer responded, '_The chances of making it out of the Moving Fortress…is zero_'.

Shocked, Freddie typed out the next question slowly. 'What will happen if the One Bomb isn't destroyed?'

The answer came from the computer much slower than the previous answers, but it said, '_The Robots will invade Coal Town, destroy Bigrock, and gradually make their way northeast, destroying any areas that resist them while enslaving others_'.

'What will happen to Harvest if the One Bomb isn't destroyed?' Freddie typed, though he didn't know if he was going to like the answer.

In response, the computer said, '_The Robots will burn the crops, turn the barns into factories, and force the residents to operate them as slaves_'.

Then suddenly, the computer screen became pitch-black, and when it turned back on, a horrendous eyeball was staring back at Freddie. It was dark-brown and red around retinal fibers, but instead of a pupil, it had the face of a creepy old man. Freddie backed away from the computer as the creepy old man laughed, while the Administrator took out a Pistol from her dress-pocket and fired at the screen. This caused the computer to explode as sparks flew from the monitor and fell onto the concrete floor. While the rest of the control panel fizzled and died, the Administrator lit a cigarette.

"Judging by the appearance of the Monoculous, I'm guessing that you asked the computer what would happen if you failed," the Administrator said, and looked at Freddie.

"Uh, yeah, but I didn't mean for that…thing to appear," Freddie said, trying to sound calm.

"The Monoculous is attracted to the one who holds the One Bomb, because it is possessed by Gray Mann's spirit," the Administrator explained. "And that person is you, Freddie Billows."

"So…as long as I carry this bomb, that eyeball will follow me?" Without thinking, Freddie took the One Bomb out of his trouser pocket, and held it. "Will I be putting my friends in danger?"

"Friends? There's no such thing when you're dealing with mercenaries. They were hired to protect the bomb, and kill anyone who tries to take it. Nothing more."

"How do you know that? We've been through a lot together over the past few weeks," Freddie responded.

"True, but sharing the same experiences doesn't mean you know them well as people. Each of them might be plotting to take the One Bomb for themselves as we speak. So if I were you, I wouldn't trust any of them, or give it to someone more fitting."

"Like you?" Freddie uncurled the hand that held the One Bomb, and thrust it out. "If you want this bomb so badly, then take it."

"Interesting. I never knew a mercenary that would prefer a peaceful solution over constant suffering." The Administrator walked towards Freddie, holding her hand out. "But you realize that if I had the bomb, I could blow up the world, or possibly threaten powerful individuals into following my demands. I'd be the world's greatest dictator, spying on each individual with my advanced surveillance technology, and killing anyone who stands in my way with the best mercenaries money could buy! Oh, the thought of it all thrills me!"

As Freddie was about to back away, the Administrator suddenly reclined from touching the bomb, and looked outside the glass window of the control panel. For a long time, she didn't say anything as Freddie put the bomb away. Then just as Freddie was about to speak, the Administrator walked past him and stopped at the door.

"I suppose I should thank you, Freddie Billows," the Administrator said, letting the little stub that was left of her cigarette fall to the floor. "Now that I know my desire for material gain has vanished, I shall return to England, and live what's left of my life there until the Australium Saxton Hale generously provided for my artificial body runs out."

End of Chapter 12


	14. Chapter 13: Radar Dish

Chapter 13: Radar Dish

Before dawn, the eight Mercenaries packed up their things and met the Administrator by the southern exit. There, they were blindfolded again as they were escorted along a path that took them back to the river, where two boats filled with extra provisions were waiting for them. As they were about to set off, the Administrator approached each of them with a gift.

"I know I seemed harsh during your stay," she said, folding her arms. "But I sincerely hope that you succeed in your mission, and these gifts will help you along the way."

"Aw, you didn't have to do that for us, ma'am," Gavin said, turning away from the Administrator to hide his blush. "But thanks, anyway."

The Administrator didn't react, but she took out a purple Prize Plushy teddy-bear and placed it in Gavin's left tool-pocket. Gavin was initially confused and then the Administrator explained, "The bear is a good-luck charm of sorts, though they're very hard to come by these days."

Not wanting to argue with her, Gavin nodded. "Much obliged."

Then, the Administrator turned to Steve and gave him a cooler with straps on it. "There are different sodas inside in case you need the extra boost, and Sandviches."

"Uh, thanks," Steve replied, putting the strapped cooler on his back.

To Mickey and Patten, the Administrator gave Pistols, and then a Rocket Launcher to Benjamin. This surprised both Aonghus and Benjamin. But shortly after, Benjamin was grinning as he inspected the new weapon.

"One of my Messengers overheard your desire to own one," the Administrator said to Benjamin. "But this kind of weaponry would be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands, so you must never lose it."

"Yes, ma'am!" Benjamin saluted.

Satisfied, the Administrator then presented a red sash to Aonghus. "This was sent from Ava shortly after you left, and she would like you to wear it to remember her during your travels."

A small smile crept across Aonghus' face, and he took the sash gladly.

"For you, Matthias, I present one of our Sniper Rifles," the Administrator said as the leader of the Gullywash Snipers picked up the Sniper Rifle he had been carrying apart from the crate where all the gifts that had been given were coming from, and gave it to Matthias. "Use it well."

"No worries!" Matthias replied, and held the Sniper Rifle with pride.

"Now, Freddie, I saved your gift for last," the Administrator said, and took out a winged Bolt Boy mask. "It isn't much, but the neon tubes over the eyes can allow you to see in the darkness."

Freddie was speechless, but he took the mask anyway.

###

After the eight Mercenaries had set off from the landing near Gullywash, they swiftly rode down the river until they came to a dam. Quickly, they rowed towards the eastern shore, and dragged the boats out of the water. Next, they divided the provisions between them, and hiked down a path that took them to the bottom of the dam, where the Hydro area was located. There, they rested in the shade of the warehouse. However, Matthias and Aonghus became anxious of a surprise-attack and stepped outside to stand guard.

"I didn't want to say this in front of the others," Matthias said, and pointed to a shadowy figure crouching on the rocks above Hydro. "But that Mumble's still following us."

"I know, but I'm not sure what to do with him," Aonghus replied. "Gerald said that he might fulfill something important later on."

"But you realize that if he's here, then the Robots aren't too far behind."

Aonghus' eye widened. "What makes you say that?"

"Think about it. Why would the Robots just let him go? Sure, they got the information they wanted, but typically, they never let anyone leave the Moving Fortress alive. So I think they're using Mumble to find us, and the One Bomb in turn."

"Aye, I see what you mean." Aonghus looked around nervously, and then he said, "If that's the case, we should keep moving, but let's rest here for a little while longer."

Matthias nodded in agreement, but while they were talking, Freddie had decided to sneak out of the warehouse. Unfortunately, Benjamin noticed him leaving, and followed him. Mickey and Patten watched Benjamin leave, but he didn't seem to pay any attention to them.

"Uh, is it just me, or is there something off about Benjamin?" asked Patten, looking at Mickey.

"Yeah, but he's been acting weird ever since he picked up the bomb when Freddie dropped it on our way to Coldfront," said Steve, who was putting ice into the cooler from a nearby ice-box.

"You're right," Mickey replied, then he looked over at where Freddie was, only to find his pack. "Say, where is Freddie?"

"Maybe that's where Benjamin went," Patten said, watching the Soldier as he exited the warehouse. "Come on, let's follow him."

"You got to admit he has a point," Patten said, following Mickey.

Steve watched the two Scouts leave and sighed. Meanwhile, Gavin was preoccupied with sharpening his Jag Wrench. So by the time he looked up, Steve had left to follow Mickey and Patten.

###

A few feet away from the warehouse, Freddie was standing on an iron platform that still held despite its age, and looked down upon the enormous Radar Dish below. The whiteness of its surface had long faded, and the actual radar was crooked from the lack of use. A _creak_ in the stairs next to the platform made Freddie turn his head to see Benjamin approaching him.

"In the old days, this Radar Dish was used to send out distress signals when the area was attacked or even to communicate with the Administrator herself," Benjamin said, looking down at the Radar Dish. "But after the Machine Wars, this area was abandoned."

When Freddie didn't respond, Benjamin stepped closer, which caused Freddie to back away. Sensing his unease, Benjamin stopped. Then Freddie sighed and sat on the edge of the metal platform. But after a few minutes of silence, Benjamin sat next to him.

"You're thinking of abandoning us, aren't you?" Benjamin said, not looking at Freddie. "Worried that everyone around you is going to get hurt. Is that it?"

"Well, kind of," Freddie said, unintentionally putting his hand close to his chest, where the One Bomb dangled from its golden chain. "There are other reasons, too."

Benjamin lifted his army helmet, thereby exposing his hazel-brown eyes. "You know, the burden of carrying that thing doesn't have to be yours alone. I can help."

"How?" Freddie asked, and was staring directly at Benjamin's eyes, which seemed friendly but there was an underlying desire in them.

"Come with me to Bigrock, son," Benjamin said, grabbing Freddie by the shoulders. "I know what those men at the Council said about not using the One Bomb ourselves, but I think they're wrong! The Bomb itself isn't bad! It's who uses it that is! Gray Mann was an evil person, but we're the good guys, so we have every right to give the enemy a taste of their medicine!"

"What is your major malfunction?!" Freddie cried, kneeing Benjamin in the crotch.

While Benjamin was kneeling in pain, Freddie ran a few feet from him, and looked back. "I'm sorry, pal, but I have to do this alone."

In response, Benjamin laughed. "If God had wanted you to live, he would not have created _me_!"

Then in a split second, Benjamin pulled out a Shotgun and turned to fire at Freddie. But Freddie managed to turn on the Invis Watch and was able to dodge the shot. Angered, Benjamin got up and started shooting in every direction, until one of the bullets ricocheted off a metal wall and hit his helmet. Luckily, the bullet didn't pierce through, but it startled Benjamin enough to drop his Shotgun.

"Holy Mary Mother of Joseph, what have I done? Freddie, get back here! I didn't mean to shoot at you!" Benjamin shouted, looking around for any trace of movement. When no answer came, he fell to his knees and put his hands on the sides of his helmet. "I've failed us all! I'm a disgrace to my entire unit!"

But when he looked at the other side of the Radar Dish, his despair turned to fear. Dozens of Zombies were marching over the cliffs and slowly moving towards the fence. As soon as Benjamin stood up, the Zombies noticed him and charged over the fence and down the cliff-walls despite their rotting limbs.

"Godspeed, Freddie, you magnificent b****rd," Benjamin said to himself, and then he pulled out a Bugle. "As Sun Tzu always said, 'When there are too many enemies, call for help'."

###

Back at the warehouse, everyone was startled by the sound of a horn blowing.

"Crikey! That was the Bugle of Bigrock!" exclaimed Matthias, reaching for his Sniper Rifle.

"That means Benjamin is in trouble!" Aonghus said, unsheathing his Eyelander sword. Then when he went inside the warehouse, he found Gavin grabbing his Jag Wrench, but no one else. "Oi, where are the Scouts, and Benjamin for that matter?"

"How should I know? I wasn't paying attention when they left," Gavin responded.

"Bloody hell!" Aonghus cursed.

"Don't blame yourself, mate," Matthias said, patting Aonghus' tense shoulders. "Judging by the sound, the horn blow came in the direction of Radar Dish. If Benjamin's there, then the Scouts might be with him."

Aonghus nodded, and charged ahead towards the Radar Dish. However, because he was so anxious, Aonghus ran further than the others, and suddenly bumped into something. He couldn't see what it was, but it made a grunt on impact. After he backed up, the thing showed itself, which turned out to be Freddie.

"Freddie, what are you doing here?" asked Aonghus, stepping closer to Freddie.

However, Freddie backed away just as he did with Benjamin. "I can't stay here anymore. Benjamin tried to take the bomb for himself, and he nearly shot at me. So I'm leaving."

"Leaving? But who will protect you from the dangers that await you in the Moving Fortress?"

"I guess I'll just have to deal with them myself," Freddie replied. "You know as well as I do that as long as I'm with you guys, I'm putting you all in danger. Not just from the external threats, but also yourselves."

In response, Aonghus sighed, and was suddenly distracted by unnatural groaning sounds. He raised his sword and stepped out in front of Freddie. But when Freddie didn't move, Aonghus turned to him and said, "Go, lad! While there's still time!"

After a brief surprise, Freddie nodded, and ran towards the dam. Meanwhile, Aonghus walked toward the nearby buildings, where the hidden Zombies emerged out of the shadows, and charged at him. Keeping his feet planted, Aonghus met the oncoming horde with violent swings and slashes from his sword, preventing them from going any further. However, some of the Scout Zombies managed to duck out of the way, and just as they were about to head for the warehouse, they were shot in the head by bullets that seemed to come out of nowhere. Aonghus looked up on the roof of a nearby building and saw the glint of a scope on a Sniper Rifle. Then before he knew it, Gavin was at his side, knocking out every single Zombie that came his way with the Jag Wrench.

Unfortunately, the three Mercenaries were so occupied with the Zombies that were in the vicinity of the Radar Dish that they missed some that were following Freddie into the Power Plant. These included Scout and Soldier Zombies, who were wielding Boston Basher bats and Equalizer pick-axes. Knowing he couldn't outrun them, Freddie immediately ducked behind a large turbine, watching as the Scout Zombies ran ahead. Then he looked over to his right, and saw Mickey and Patten staring directly at him from the other side of the room. They tried to signal him to come over, but keeping to his promise, Freddie shook his head. This response surprised them, because a second later, they were walking towards him, when they saw a new wave of Zombies stumbling in their direction. For a split second, Freddie thought he was doomed, but then Mickey and Patten did something he did not expect them to do.

"Hey! Over here!" shouted Mickey.

"Come get some, you frickin' deadbeats!" added Patten, smacking his behind at the Zombies.

That seemed to get their attention, as the Zombies now ran toward Mickey and Patten, who in turn ran as fast as they could through the Power Plant. Luckily, none of the passing Zombies spotted Freddie, who was already heading for a tunnel that would take him to the river below the dam. For a while, Mickey and Patten managed to stay ahead of the oncoming Zombies, but soon they were cornered into a large room where the BLU base capture point stood, though no longer lit. So Mickey and Patten took out their pistols and started shooting randomly at the Zombies, who still charged at them despite being shot multiple times. Then when Mickey and Patten thought they were done for, Benjamin charged down a flight of stairs next to them and fired at the Zombies with his Rocket Launcher. While some Zombies lost a limb or two, others were blown up.

Seeing what his Rocket Launcher could do, Benjamin laughed triumphantly and said, "Now _that_ is what I want to see!"

End of Chapter 13


	15. Chapter 14: The Separation

Chapter 14: The Separation of the Mercenaries

With Benjamin's help, Mickey and Patten were able to beat back the horde of oncoming Zombies. Besides the Zombie Scouts and Soldiers, the three now had to deal with Zombie Heavies, which were much harder to kill than the other two. For this reason, Mickey and Patten quickly ran out of bullets and Benjamin spent up all the projectiles on his Rocket Launcher. So the three had to resort to their Bats and Shovel respectably, and managed to put up a pretty good fight despite the circumstances. However, Benjamin knew that they wouldn't be able to hold out for very long, and so he blew the Bugle of Bigrock once more. The number of Zombies that came down from the main entrance increased, and bringing up the rear was a single Zombie Sniper.

For a while, the Zombie Sniper just stood a ways up the sloped main entrance, watching as the other Zombies tried to attack Benjamin and the others. Then he took out a Fortified Compound bow, fit a large arrow into the string, and fired it at Benjamin. The arrow only pierced Benjamin in the shoulder, but it did cause Mickey and Patten to stop and look at him. In response, Benjamin grunted and then continued to swing his Shovel violently at the approaching Zombies. In the far back, the Zombie Sniper moved further down the sloped entrance and fired again. This time, the arrow hit Benjamin in the lower abdomen, causing him to kneel. But to Mickey and Patten's surprise, he got back up, even though he was obviously in a lot of pain, and kept fighting. Perplexed, the Zombie Sniper stepped forward and fired another arrow, which hit Benjamin on his other shoulder, causing him to drop his Shovel. He knelt on the floor again and was about to pick up his Shovel when the fourth arrow came flying from the Zombie Sniper's bow and pierced straight through Benjamin's kneecap, causing him to fall on his side.

Angered, Benjamin grabbed his Shovel and hit any Zombies that came near him while Mickey and Patten assisted him. Unfortunately, the two Scouts were picked up by a pair of Zombie Heavies, and carried away. They tried to free themselves, but that didn't seem to stop the Zombie Heavies as they were soon heading up the same stairs Benjamin had used before. Benjamin watched helplessly, and tried to get on his knees though the pain was unbearable, when the Zombie Sniper approached him. He stood over Benjamin's arrow-torn body, and took out a Tribalman's Shiv knife. Then, just as the Zombie Sniper was about shove the knife through Benjamin's heart, a shining blade appeared out of the darkness and decapitated the Zombie Sniper's head in one swing.

It was Aonghus. Benjamin tried to laugh, but instead he coughed up blood. Aonghus quickly helped Benjamin up and placed him against the wall in the back of the room.

"You won't find the two Scouts here," Benjamin muttered, coughing up more blood afterwards. "Those Zombie b****rds…took them away."

"Do you know which way the Zombies went?" Aonghus asked.

"I think they went…that way," Benjamin answered, weakly pointing to the stairs.

"Which Scouts did they take? Was it Freddie and Steve?"

"No, it was Mickey and Patten they took." After coughing up more blood, Benjamin grabbed the Bugle, which had been broken when he fell on his side, and held it up to Aonghus. "Take this…to my father, if you ever get to Bigrock."

"You're not going to die, lad!" Aonghus said insistently. "Once Matthias and Gavin show up, we'll take care of you."

A weak chuckle escaped Benjamin's bloodstained mouth. "Don't lie to me, Aonghus. You know I'm beyond medical aid."

Aonghus said nothing, and instead he took the Bugle from Benjamin's weak hand, which suddenly became limp. Surprised, Aonghus lifted Benjamin's army helmet up, and immediately knew Benjamin was dead. His eyes had gone blank and Benjamin's mouth was agape. Out of respect, Aonghus closed Benjamin's eyelids and placed the army helmet back down to hide the dead man's face. By the time Matthias and Gavin showed up, Aonghus was already carrying Benjamin's corpse towards them.

###

While the battles were being fought near the Radar Dish and inside the Power Plant, Freddie was looking over the metal barrier that had once served to keep vans and trucks from falling down the steep rocky cliff, where a cluster of white buildings lay below and beyond that stood the southern canyons. He knew there was no point in going back, and yet his heart felt heavy. Ignoring the feeling, Freddie jumped over the barrier, and started a slow, steady climb down the cliff.

"Hey, Freddie!" cried a familiar voice.

Freddie immediately stopped, and saw Steve running towards him. He was carrying the cooler the Administrator gave to him, and his own pack.

"Steve, what are you doing here?" Freddie asked.

"I was looking for you. There are so many Zombies running around, so I figured I'd find someplace to hide till the whole thing brushes over, and protect the food while doing it," Steve answered. "But where are _you_ going?"

"To the Moving Fortress. Alone."

"Are you crazy? You can't do that!"

"And whose going to stop me? You?"

"But why do it? What was the point of forming the Mercenaries of the Bomb if you were just going to go off and destroy the bomb yourself?"

"Because I'm a magnet for trouble! Gerald died and Benjamin tried to shoot me because I have the One Bomb! What the Mercenaries of the Bomb stood for was a lie, because if I'm not getting you guys killed, then you'll try to use the One Bomb for your own purposes!"

"But not all of us are like that!"

"I know, but I can't take that risk!" Freddie was about to continue climbing down, when Steve suddenly started to approach the metal barrier. "Steve, what are you doing?"

"I'm coming with you, brother!"

"What? I cannot believe this! First of all, I'm not your brother and second, you'll only cause more misery for yourself if you follow me."

Steve didn't change course, and then he tripped. He immediately lost balance and started falling towards Freddie. Immediately, Freddie grabbed Steve by the hand before he splattered his brains on the concrete below. Holding tightly, Freddie gently swung his friend towards the cliff, until Steve managed to find decent footholds, and let go.

"Don't ever do something like that on me again!" Freddie said, looking down at Steve. "You could've died."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Steve said, avoiding Freddie's gaze. "It's just that I couldn't stand to see my best friend abandon me like that. You would've done the same for me, right?"

"Of course, dummy!" Freddie replied, and then the two made the slow climb down.

###

From the telescopic lense on Matthias' Sniper Rifle, Freddie and Steve looked like small red blurs as they ran through the maze of white buildings and into the canyons beyond. Meanwhile, Gavin and Aonghus had finished placing Benjamin's body into a grave that stood before a group of storage tanks. Matthias then came over and joined the two in a sermon, which spoken by Gavin, while Aonghus tossed the first pile of earth onto the corpse.

"May your spirit always guard this place, Soldier," Gavin said, finishing the sermon. "Amen."

For a few minutes, the three men stood in silence with their hats off, staring down at their fallen comrade. Then they lowered Benjamin's possessions into the grave, including the Rocket Launcher, and covered the body with the dirt they dug up. Once that was done, Aonghus placed Benjamin's Shovel into the ground as a grave-marker.

"I saw Freddie and Steve heading into the canyons south of here," Matthias said, putting his hat back on after the moment of silence was over. "Should we go after them?"

"No, they'll be too far away by time we head out," Aonghus said, looking off towards the canyons. "Besides, the Bomb Carrier decided that it would be better this way."

"It's my fault all this happened," Gavin said, shaking his head. "I never should've let the Scouts and Benjamin leave."

"Stop blaming yourself, mate," Matthias said. "We're all to blame for the events that have unfolded, and there's nothing we can do to change it."

"But what are we supposed to do now?"

"There is something we can do," Aonghus replied, causing Matthias and Gavin to look at him. "While we may have lost the Bomb Carrier, we can prevent Mickey and Patten from being tortured at Hightower."

At that, the Sniper and Engineer nodded. Then they went back to the warehouse, and picked out the provisions they could easily carry while leaving the rest in a storage-room Aonghus closed off and marked with a bomb-shaped insignia using his Eyelander sword. Next, they went to the stairs where Mickey and Patten were taken to, and followed the strong odor that the Zombies gave off all the way out of Hydro and in the direction of Hightower.

End of Chapter 14


	16. Chapter 15: The Taming of Samuel

Chapter 15: The Taming of Samuel

In the days that followed after Freddie and Steve left Hydro behind, they scaled and ran across several cliffs that made up the majority of the southern canyons. This in turn caused their running shoes to wear out more quickly, and then eventually, they were forced to walk. Therefore, the distance they covered each day decreased significantly, and their food and energy sodas had to be rationed accordingly. While neither of the Scouts were happy with the rationing due to their high metabolisms, they also knew that in the long run, they would have a better chance of reaching the Moving Fortress.

"I wonder if the others are doing better than we are," Freddie wondered out loud while he and Steve were resting in the shade of a large boulder. "We've been traveling through this canyon for days with no sign of it ending!"

"If they could handle Cyborgs in the sewers of Double Cross, then they're probably not dead," Steve said, and then he realized, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to bring up the place where –

"No offense taken," Freddie said, and took another sip of his Crit-a-Cola soda. "By the way, how much food do we have left?"

"Well, let's see," Steve said as he took out two handfuls of Sandviches. "We have Sandviches, and…more Sandviches."

After putting most of the Sandviches back in the cooler, which had very little ice left, Steve tore one Sandvich in half and gave a piece to Freddie. The two ate their halves deliberately slow to avoid wanting more, and then they finished the sodas they were drinking. Afterwards, they put the empty cans in the cooler and continued on their way.

"Normally, I hate Sandviches, but these ones aren't too bad," Steve said, still eating his half while they walked.

Freddie looked over at his best friend, and laughed a little.

###

Later, the two Scouts slept near a creek, while a chill wind blew over their heads. The moon had just risen, and standing on the cliffs above was a lone figure. He looked like a Scout, but his head was shaped like a Pyro's. As he climbed his way down to the sleeping Scouts, he made incoherent murmurings through the gas mask he wore. Then once he got close enough, he leaped onto Freddie. Immediately, Freddie woke up and struggled against the mysterious figure that was attacking him, but the thing wouldn't let go. Then next to him, Steve got up and hit the figure on the back of its head with his Bat, causing it to fall. But before it had time to get up again, Freddie took out his Three-Rune Blade and pointed it at the figure's throat.

"You recognize this sword?" Freddie said, pressing the blade's tip further. "It was the same one my uncle wielded when he encountered you, Mumble."

The figure, who wore nothing but a ragged pair of trousers apart from the gas mask, started shaking its head frantically while bowing low to the ground and making a series of loud mumblings.

"If you thought I was Bobbie Billows, you're wrong. I'm his nephew, Freddie Billows, and I just happen to be carrying the bomb because I inherited it from Bobbie."

"You can understand what this thing is saying?" Steve was perplexed.

"There was a Pyro family that I used to hang out with a lot as a kid, so I learned how to understand their language from them," Freddie explained.

"But this guy's not even a Pyro! He's just a Scout wearing a Pyro's gas mask."

"As long as he wears the mask, he will always speak Pyro." Freddie then got on his knees and stared directly at Mumble with his sword still pointing at Mumble's throat. "Now, we can't have you running around because you'll probably attract the Robots' attention, and I don't have a good reason to kill you yet, so you're coming with us, Samuel."

Mumble tilted his head sideways in a confused manner.

"That was your name before you became Mumble," Freddie said. "Don't you remember?"

After a long pause, Mumble put his hands over his eyes, and then small tears made their way down his bare neck from underneath the mask. This surprised Freddie, causing him to lower the Three-Rune Blade. However, Steve didn't buy into Mumble's sudden change of mood, and kept his Bat in a position where he could strike Mumble pretty quickly.

"He says it's been awhile since anyone has called him 'Samuel', and I guess that brought up some painful memories," Freddie said, listening to Mumble's muted words. "That's why he's crying."

"Are you kidding me? He's just trying to make you feel sorry for him!" Steve said, stepping closer with his Bat raised. "I think we should just put an end to his misery and get out of here!"

Before Steve could give Mumble a fatal blow to the head, Freddie stood up and blocked Steve's Bat with his Three-Rune Blade.

"I understand that you're concerned for my safety," Freddie said, holding his position. "But Gerald said that Mumble could be useful."

"Well Gerald's not here, is he?" Steve persisted, trying to get his Bat out of Freddie's block. "He probably didn't know what he was talking about!"

"How could you say that?" Freddie glared. "Gerald was smarter than any of us, and I'm sure he had his reasons for suspecting Mumble's potential usefulness. So if you want to disrespect the dead man's words, be my guest, but that means you'll be on your own out here."

"Okay, okay, I take back everything I said about Gerald," Steve said, raising his hands in the air. When Freddie didn't seem convinced, Steve reluctantly put his Bat into his pack. "So what are we going to do with Mumble?"

Turning back, Freddie saw that Mumble was groveling on the ground, hiding his face from the two Scouts. So Freddie lightly touched him on the shoulder, causing him to look up. But when Mumble saw who it was, he immediately covered his masked head with his hands, while Freddie pointed his Three-Rune Blade at him once more.

"You've been to the Moving Fortress before, right?" Freddie asked.

In response, Mumble nodded, though he kept his head covered.

"Do you know how we can get in without being noticed?"

Again, Mumble nodded.

Steve watched as Freddie thought about what Mumble said. Then after a few minutes, Freddie sheathed his Three-Rune Blade. "Alright, I'll take your word for it. But if you try to take the One Bomb from me again, I won't hesitate to kill you. Do you understand that?"

Mumble groveled again, and nodded through muffled whimpering.

"Good," Freddie responded. Then he went to the cooler and pulled out two Bonk! Sodas, throwing one towards Steve, who caught it. "Now to make sure you don't go anywhere, we're going to keep an eye on you for the rest of the night."

At that, Mumble waved his hands dismissively. Yet despite his pleas, Steve and Freddie took turns watching Mumble, using the sodas to keep them awake. They kept their Bat and Three-Rune Blade nearby just in case, but all Mumble did was crouch on top of a rock near the creek, and nothing else. Then as dawn came into the valley, Freddie and Steve had both fallen asleep despite finishing both sodas. When they awoke around noon, the two were surprised to find that Mumble, or Samuel, was gone.

"Aw, crap," Steve said, looking around the rock Mumble was crouched on earlier. "I told you he wasn't trustworthy, but no, you had to spare his pathetic life so he could fulfill some unknown purpose Gerald mentioned before he died."

"Well don't entirely blame me, Steve!" Freddie replied, scanning the cliffs above. "You were the one who insisted on taking the last shift!"

"And I did, but I didn't drink as much soda so I could save it for later."

"You and your stupid rationing can all go—

Before Freddie could finish he sentence, a series of loud mumbles caught his attention. A little ways down the creek stood Mumble, who was waving at them. Confused, Freddie waved back, then Mumble started waving for them to come over, while saying incoherent words.

"What's he saying?" Steve asked, running over to Freddie.

"He wants us to pack up and follow him," Freddie replied, after listening to Mumble repeat his words. "He's found a way out of the canyon that goes straight towards the Moving Fortress."

"Well he'd better be right," Steve said as he grabbed his pack, the cooler, and his Bat. "Because if he takes us in circles around this frickin' canyon, I'm gonna give him a beating he won't forget."

After Freddie got his pack, him and Steve walked over to Mumble, who seemed irritated with them. They told him a lie as to why they were late, which seemed to satisfy him. Then he took off ahead of them, running in his bare feet no less. So the two Scouts had to run faster to keep up him, despite their worn-out shoes.

End of Chapter 15


	17. Chapter 16: The Bears of Alpine

Chapter 16: The Bears of Alpine

Once they had left the canyons behind, Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin followed the stench of the Zombies through a woodland area that lay between the mountains and the desert. This was the fourth day since they decided to take this hunt upon themselves, and their supplies were at their lowest. It also didn't help that the Zombies were still ahead of them by a few leagues. Then somewhere around the afternoon, they were wandering along the banks of a stream, when Matthias suddenly told them to stop.

"What is it, lad?" Aonghus said as he stopped.

"I hear footsteps, lots of them, and there's a faint stench in the air," Matthias reported.

"Sounds like our Zombies are heading this way," Gavin responded.

"They must've caught onto our scent," replied Aonghus, gritting his teeth.

So the three climbed up the slopes along the stream, and hid behind large boulders. Sure enough, several footsteps came trudging by along the banks. But just as Aonghus was about to lift his head to get a good look at the runners, there suddenly came a series of ticking sounds.

"Robots," Matthias said to himself. "But what would they be doing all the way out here?"

"Beats me," Gavin muttered.

Then another series of footsteps came from a different direction, and this was accompanied by a familiar foul stench.

Curious, Gavin looked over his boulder to see what was going on. "It seems that the Zombies were waiting for the Robots to catch up, but I can't fathom why the two forces would meet up in the first place."

"They both want the One Bomb, lad, and they think our friends have it with them," Aonghus whispered. "That's why they were kidnapped in the first place."

Meanwhile, down by the stream, the Zombies and Robots gathered into a single intermingled group, and began discussing the Zombies' prisoners, Mickey and Patten. Their hands and feet had been bound by old ropes strengthened by Merasmus' magic, and were constantly taking naps, much to the annoyance of their Zombie captors. So as Mickey and Patten partially listened to the conversation, one of the Zombie Snipers abruptly began sniffing.

"_What is your major malfunction?_" asked a Robot Scout.

"**Silence, little metal man!**" shouted a Zombie Heavy. Then he turned towards the Zombie Sniper and asked, "**What do you smell?**"

"**Human flesh**," replied the Zombie Sniper.

In response, the three mercenaries slowly backed away and hid near a group of bushes filled with scented berries. They waited with their weapons drawn, but so far, nothing came beyond the slope. Meanwhile, the Zombie Sniper continued to sniff the air, but then he cursed under his breath.

"**Is something wrong?**" asked the Zombie Heavy.

"**The scent was nearby, and now its gone**," the Zombie Sniper said, turning to the Zombie Heavy.

"_If you maggot-covered freaks are done sniffing roses, then let's move out!_" said a Robot Soldier, who led the charge, while the Zombies followed behind with their prisoners in tow.

When the three mercenaries were certain that the two groups were far enough away, they came out from their hiding place and followed them, using the woods as cover.

"Whoooowee, would you look at that? Zombies and Robots working together," Gavin said, trying to keep up with his faster companions. "Never thought I'd see such a thing in my lifetime."

"Yeah, but from what I heard of their conversation, they're off to a pretty rocky start," Matthias replied.

"If there's a disagreement of interests or they realize the Scouts they have aren't the ones they're looking for, our friends could get killed," Aonghus said.

###

A couple nights later, the Zombies stopped to rest in a clearing deep within the woods. The Robots stopped as well, though they were more the more reluctant of the two groups. Mickey and Patten, on the other hand, were lifted off the Zombie Heavies' backs and fed rotten animal meat the Zombies gave them while they were still tied up.

"**Argh! I'm sick of eating this animal crap we've had for the past two weeks!**" said a Zombie Scout, throwing his piece of the meat against a nearby tree.

"**Quit whining, will you?**" asked a Zombie Sniper, who was furiously devouring his meat. "**That'll only make you hungrier.**"

"**I don't care! I'm dying to sink my teeth into some human brains right now!**" the Zombie Scout replied, then he turned towards Mickey and Patten, who were just finishing the last of their meat. "**But on the other hand…**

"_Don't get any ideas, maggot-carrier,_" said a Robot Soldier, grabbing the Zombie Scout on the shoulder. "_Those Scouts are __**not**__ for eating!_"

"**Aw, come on, Tin-Man. Just one little bite,**" the Zombie Scout said, shrugging off the Robot Soldier's grip.

But the Robot Soldier held firmly on, causing the Zombie Scout's arm to fall off. This caused all the Zombies and Robots to look at them. For a few moments, both groups watched as the Robot Soldier tossed the Zombie Scout's arm away, while the Zombie Scout yelled out in pain. Next, the Zombie Scout turned to face the Robot Soldier, and glared at him with blank yellow eyes.

"**You…are…terrible!**" the Zombie Scout said, taking his Flying Guillotine cutting knife out, which was tipped in dried blood.

The Robot Soldier in turn took out a Rocket Launcher. "_I'm not afraid of you, maggot-carrier, but I will blow you to bits if you take another step!_"

"**Ooh, you're real **_**scary**_**! Bet you've never gone up against an armed Zombie before!**"

"_There's a first time for everything_."

Then just as both groups pulled out their weapons, a series of distant roars got their attention. The sounds seemed to be coming from all around them, causing Mickey and Patten to panic. While the Robots calmly surveyed the area, the Zombies sniffed the air and ran into the surrounding woods.

"_Um, should we follow the Zombies?_" asked a Robot Scout to the Robot Soldier that picked a quarrel with the Zombie Scout.

"_No, we need to stay here and guard the prisoners!_" the Robot Soldier replied. "_If they want to go chase whatever animals were making that noise, that's their problem!_"

A few moments later, the roaring noises got louder, followed by the sound of bodies being slashed and beaten numerous times. This caused the Zombie Heavies to run off to see what had happened to their brethren, leaving the two Scouts unguarded. Unfortunately, the Robots noticed this and assigned two Robot Pyros to guard Mickey and Patten while they fired their guns in all directions. After a single shot, the Robots stopped and listened for any sign of movement. At first, there was none, and then several large shapes appeared on the edge of the clearing.

In the light of the moon, Mickey and Patten saw that the large shapes were actually men. Their heads were covered by bearskins, the Warrior's Spirit bear claws covered their enormous hands, and they wore red Heavy uniforms. Surprised, the Robots aimed their weapons at the Heavies, and just as they were about to fire, the Heavies cried out the same roar that was heard earlier. While Mickey and Patten were stunned, the Robots weren't affected, and opened fire. Some of the Heavies got hit, but they ran at the Robots with their fists ready, and as soon as they were close enough, they knocked out any Robot that stood in their way. In the chaos that ensued, Mickey and Patten decided to sneak away, and quickly crawled their way out of the clearing.

###

The next day, Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin had climbed over a steep hill, when they beheld a beautiful sight of tall pine trees standing along the sides of great mountains.

"Well ain't that something," Gavin said, taking in the beauty of the scene before them.

"That's Alpine country, lad. The home of the great Heavy Warriors," Aonghus said as he started to descend the hill.

"Hold on, Aonghus," Matthias said, scanning the area with the telescopic lens on his Sniper Rifle. "There are several Heavies marching in this direction. They're all wearing bearskins on their heads and bear-claws on their hands."

Upon hearing that, Aonghus' eye widened. "That's the Bears of Alpine! We have to go down to meet them!"

"Why?" Gavin asked, reluctantly following Aonghus down the hill.

"They're the elite militia group that protects this area, so they might be able to help us find Mickey and Patten," Matthias explained, bringing up the rear.

Once they got down to the bottom, they waited as the Bears of Alpine marched toward them. Once the Bears spotted them, they came running at full-speed, and soon they surrounded the three mercenaries with their claws drawn. In response, Aonghus and the other two held their hands up to show they meant no harm. However, the Bears didn't let their Warrior's Spirit paws down.

"Drop your weapons, cowards!" shouted a Heavy who folded his arms. He was slightly taller than the others, and he wore a steel jaw over the bottom-half of his face. "You cannot beat us!"

"We aren't here to fight you, corn cakes," Gavin said, glaring at the steel-jawed Heavy. "But if you ever call me a coward again, I'll –

"We'd better do as he says, mate," Matthias said, pinching Gavin's shoulder. "These mongrels mean business."

So the three mercenaries took out their weapons and tossed them towards the Heavies that surrounded them. Satisfied, the steel-jawed Heavy lowered his arms, and the others followed his example. Assuming he was the leader, Aonghus stepped toward the steel-jawed Heavy, who walked up to Aonghus in turn.

"Since when have King Terenti's loyal warriors shown hostility toward strangers?" Aonghus asked bluntly.

"And what are an Engineer, a Sniper, and a Demoman doing in Alpine territory?" the steel-jawed Heavy retorted.

After a brief sigh, Aonghus said, "We were hunting a group of Zombies heading towards Hightower, because they had taken some of our friends hostage."

The steel-jawed Heavy thought for a moment, and then he replied, "We did find some Zombies in a clearing a few miles from here, close to Mann Manor."

Aonghus raised his eyebrows. "Were there Robots with them?"

"Da (Yes), but we slayed them all last night and buried them. What did your friends look like?"

"They were Scouts." When the steel-jawed Heavy gave him an odd look, Aonghus said, "Small, skinny people with close-cut light-brown hair, wearing blue t-shirts, tan-colored trousers, running shoes, and carrying Bats or Three-Rune Blades."

"Net (No), I don't recall seeing such people, though it was very dark when we attacked," the steel-jawed Heavy said, shaking his head. "If they weren't killed during the battle, then they might've been buried with the Zombies and Robots by accident."

The thought of Mickey and Patten being buried alive frightened the three mercenaries. But they chose to not show their anxiety to the steel-jawed Heavy, who looked at each of them once more. Then he waved his fellow Heavies away, and they moved in single file up along the bend in the hill the mercenaries came down, towards the mountains.

"Before I go, I would like to know your names," the steel-jawed Heavy said, staying behind while the Bears went on.

"I am Aonghus, son of Aonghas, and heir to the famous Demoman Iomhar," Aonghus said firmly, then he gestured towards Matthias and Gavin. "My companions are Matthias of the Badlands area and Gavin, son of Gage."

"My name is Ivan, former leader of the Bears of Alpine," the steel-jawed Heavy answered. Then when he noticed the three mercenaries seemed confused, he said, "Our king, Terenti, has fallen under the influence of an evil Spy named Gaston Langue de Serpent, who convinced him a few months ago to reserve our forces, even when Zombies were attacking our borders. Naturally, I disagreed with this policy, so I tried to talk to Terenti, but he wouldn't listen because Gaston was there, putting words in his mouth.

"I…let my temper get the best of me, and nearly killed Gaston, which caused him to arrest me. As a result, I was banished from Rottenburg, but a few warriors who were still loyal came with me. We've been patrolling like we always have, but we're no longer loyal to the king." Ivan walked a little ways to follow the other Heavies, then he turned around and said, "I apologize for the way we treated you earlier, but I hope you find your friends."

Aonghus nodded in response, and then he turned to his companions while Ivan ran to catch up with the other Bears.

End of Chapter 16


	18. Chapter 17: Silas

Chapter 17: Silas

A few hours later, the three mercenaries reached the clearing where the battle took place between the Zombies, Robots, and Bears of Alpine. There were bullet shells littered about, the majority of the grass was burned, and two distinct mounds stood. One had a strong stench to it, while the other had no scent at all.

"Do you think the Zombies will come out if we dig up their mound?" Gavin asked, looking at Aonghus.

"I'm sure the Bears knew what they were doing," Aonghus replied. "Let's have a look around the clearing before we attempt to dig the mounds up."

Matthias nodded, and went to search the area around the clearing. Gavin made use by examining the bullet shells while Aonghus looked carefully at what remained of the grass for any signs of movement. They went about this for a while until Aonghus found a couple of rope-strands near the edge. Gavin and Matthias immediately came over and all three of them examined the strands closely.

"The edges are black," Gavin said after feeling the ropes with his gloved hands. "Like they had been burnt off."

"Well, there is the strong scent of gas in the air," Matthias said. "I'm guessing that one of the Robot Pyros got knocked down in the fight, and so one of the Scouts used his Flame Thrower to free himself, and then the weapon got buried along with the rest of the Robots."

"That would explain why these ropes don't have any burn-marks," Aonghus said, looking at the second set of rope-strands.

"But where did they go? How did they slip away without being noticed?" Gavin turned to the mounds again. "Unless one of those sons of b*****s buried under there killed them."

"That might be possible, lad," Aonghus said gravely. "And if so, we came all this way for nothing."

"Now hold on a minute," Matthias said, looking at the ground near where the rope-strands were found. "The grass around here is bent, like someone was crawling around."

Aonghus snapped his finger in exclamation. "That's how they got away! They crawled their way out of the clearing!"

"But we don't know that for sure," Gavin said, then he shrugged his shoulders. "Though that would explain why the Bears didn't see them."

After Matthias had examined the grass further, he started to move away from the clearing. Aonghus and Gavin followed him, though they were both confused. Matthias said nothing as he moved along, and then he stopped as the trees started to thin out.

"What's wrong, Matthias?" Gavin looked at his companion with a mix of worry and puzzlement. "Lost the trail?"

"No, I haven't lost the trail," Matthias explained, and pointed to the area beyond the trees. "It's where the trail leads to that worries me."

Ahead of them stood a large mansion surrounded by graveyards and dried-up cornfields. A few warehouses and sheds stood about the place, and a tall clock tower loomed across from the mansion itself, which had a large stain-glass window with a big 'R' in the middle of it. The three mercenaries didn't have to think long to know what they were looking at.

"Damn! That's Mann Manor!" Gavin exclaimed.

"Gerald told me this was where Merasmus got most of his Zombies from. You think the Scouts went there?" Aonghus wondered, turning to Matthias.

"It would seem so, judging by these crawl marks we've been following," Matthias replied. "Unless I'm mistaken."

Gavin scratched his head underneath his helmet and said, "Either something was chasing them, or they were driven by madness to come to this godforsaken place."

###

While the three mercenaries decided to make camp before planning the next move, Mickey and Patten were hiding out in the library. The Zombie Scout that wanted to eat them had followed them there despite how quietly they had crawled the night before. When they saw the ghostly lights of Mann Manor, the Scouts were initially afraid to go there, but then when they heard footsteps coming behind them, they ran across the dry cornfield and into the open front door of the mansion. After locking it, they ran around the house till they found the library, locked the double doors, and hid on top of the shelves. They heard the Zombie Scout tearing the place apart with his Boston Basher Bat, but he never seemed to come near the library. After a while, the Scouts lost track of time, and soon fell asleep. They were awoken when a loud _crash_ and _bang_ told them that the doors to the library had been broken in.

"**You knuckleheads ain't even worth the effort,**" the Zombie Scout said, stepping over the knocked-down doors. "**I know you're hiding in here.**"

Panicked, the two Scouts lay very still as the Zombie Scout searched behind every bookshelf. When he found nothing, the Zombie Scout climbed up the ladder, which hadn't been knocked away, causing Mickey to silently curse. Unfortunately, he said it loud enough for the Zombie Scout to hear, causing him to look up. When the Zombie Scout saw Mickey lying down on the top of the shelf, Mickey cried out and ran to the edge of the shelf. Meanwhile, Patten crept backwards towards the window, where a moonless night sky shown through. Then suddenly, Patten hit something behind him, but he was too scared to turn and see what it was, because the Zombie Scout was climbing onto the top of the bookshelf. He didn't see Patten, but he started to walk slowly towards Mickey, who didn't have anywhere to run.

The Zombie Scout laughed triumphantly. "**If you had just let me eat your brains back at the camp, you wouldn't be in this situation.**"

"Mickey! Jump!" Patten shouted, causing the Zombie Scout to look at him.

At first, the Zombie Scout grinned and ran toward Patten, but then his eyes widened and stopped. Patten was confused, and then he looked behind him and saw why. A ten-foot tall skeleton was standing on the shelf near the window, wearing a torn black cape, leather gloves and boots, a Jack-o-Lantern for a head, and carrying a large battle-axe. Immediately, Patten jumped down as the giant skeleton swung the axe and decapitated the Zombie Scout. Mickey followed Patten's example, and the two ran out of the library, but were soon cornered in a room with a large gaping hole near the wall.

Then a white ghost emerged out of the hole, which frightened the two Scouts causing them to turn back, only to see the giant skeleton standing there. It held its axe out towards the ghost, and a strange blue substance left the axe and became a part of the ghost, which changed from a white blob into a see-through Scout. In turn, the Scout thanked the giant skeleton and vanished. Next, the giant skeleton turned to Mickey and Patten and moved towards them.

"_**Well I'll be damned**_," the giant skeleton said in a deep throaty voice, looking down on the two Scouts with interest. "_**I've never seen men with all their flesh entirely on them since the days of RED and BLU, unless you two work for Merasmus.**_"

"Uh, no," Mickey said, trying to sound brave. "We do not work for Merasmus. In fact, we're escaped prisoners of his Zombie army."

This seemed to puzzle the giant skeleton, and then he raised his axe. "_**Do not lie to me, mortals, or I'll cut off your heads before you speak another word!**_"

"We're telling the truth," Patten spoke. "If we worked for Merasmus, we wouldn't be terrified of you."

"_**I suppose, but even Merasmus is afraid of me.**_" The giant skeleton lowered his axe till he was pointing it at Mickey and asked,"_**So what are you if not servants of that damn wizard?**_"

"Well," Mickey paused, and then said, "We're Scouts, for starters, and we're from Harvest."

"_**Harvest?**_" the skeleton man looked away for a moment, then he asked, "_**Have you seen a ghost wearing a top hat on Halloween nights?**_"

"Uh, not personally, but I've heard others claim to have seen it."

"_**So my brother still roams this earth**_," the giant skeleton said to himself. Then he shook his Jack-o-Lantern head and thrust the axe blade closer to Mickey. "_**Don't distract me, mortal scum! What is your business at Mann Manor?**_"

"That Zombie you killed chased us here, and so we had no choice but to hide."

"_**But what led you to Mann Manor in the first place? No mortal man has dared to set foot on these grounds since the wars ended.**_"

"As I said before, we were kidnapped. My friend and I were traveling with a group of companions, and then an army of Zombies attacked us at Hydro. We did our best to defend ourselves, but one of our comrades fell in battle while my friend and I were taken away. After a few days of non-stop travel, we met up with a group of Robots and stopped by a clearing near the mansion a couple nights after. Then yesterday, a group of large men attacked the Zombies and Robots, so I freed myself by burning the ropes that bound me with a Flame Thrower that was still on, and then after freeing my friend, we crawled away. The rest you already know, but what were you doing in the library? Shouldn't you be in a grave?"

At that, the giant skeleton laughed, which made Mickey and Patten shutter.

"_**If you think I'm some kind of ghost or Zombie, I am neither,**_" the giant skeleton replied. "_**I am a Headless Horseless Horsemann, but you may call me Silas. In the old days, I rose from the Underworld to slay mercenaries like you on Halloween night. But as the wars ended, fewer men came here, and so I went back to the Underworld, then Merasmus changed everything. He robbed the graves of this area, and reanimated the bodies that should've stayed dead, which made the ghosts of those fallen men restless, including myself. So now I sleep during the day in this library and at night I watch over the spirits of Mann Manor along with the others.**_"

"Others?" Patten gulped. "You mean there are more creatures like you, Silas?"

"_**Of course. How could I kill dozens of mercenaries in a single night? I'm not the Grim Reaper.**_" The giant skeleton, Silas, put the battle-axe behind his back, and then he picked up the two Scouts. "_**Now since you two don't seem threatening, I don't think you work for Merasmus, but I will let The Wizard decide what to do with you**_."

"The Wizard? I thought Merasmus was the only one," Mickey tried to struggle, but Silas' grip was stronger. Patten, on the other hand, had passed out from sheer fright.

"_**He was, but not anymore**_," Silas replied, and carried the two Scouts to a dim-lit living room. "_**This new wizard is more…agreeable.**_"

End of Chapter 17


	19. Chapter 18: The White Flyer

Chapter 18: The White Flyer

The following day, Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin set off to Mann Manor. They approached the area deliberately slow so as to not draw attention to themselves, but had their weapons drawn in case they encountered any straggling Zombies, or even Merasmus. A quiet wind blew through the empty sheds, and yet the air felt heavy. Matthias was the first to approach the front door of the mansion, and was surprised to find it locked.

"Our mates must've gone in here," Matthias said, turning the handle vigorously.

"Hopefully, none of the ghosts lurking inside killed them," Gavin said, clenching his Jag Wrench tightly.

"It's not the ghosts we should be worried about," Aonghus said, causing Gavin and Matthias to turn to him. "Don't forget the Headless Horsemann haunt this place as well."

"You mean those bloody pumpkin-heads with the big axes?" Matthias exclaimed.

"Aye, same ones."

"Dagnabbit! We should've come here sooner!" Gavin cursed, and was about to smash the locked door when Aonghus held him back.

"Don't get too cocky, lad," Aonghus said, even as Gavin struggled. "If we make too much noise, the wizard might find us here."

"He already has," Matthias said grimly, pointing to a darkly-clad figure standing near the clock tower.

Gavin and Aonghus looked at the figure Matthias pointed to, and they both became stiff with fear.

"Do you think he's seen us?" Aonghus asked.

Matthias shook his head. "I don't think so, otherwise he would've attacked us by now."

"Then let's attack him while we can," Gavin said, grinning.

After they came up with a plan, the three mercenaries snuck around the buildings between the mansion and the clock tower while trying to stay out of the wizard's line of vision. Once they got to the base of the cliff the clock tower stood on, they slowly made their way around to the back of it, and climbed the hill till they were behind the shed next to the clock tower. Matthias looked past the shed, and when he saw that the wizard still hadn't seen them, he waved Aonghus and Gavin forward to attack. But just as Aonghus and Gavin raised their weapons, the wizard turned around, his face obscured by a dark hood, and waved his left hand at them. Gavin's Jag Wrench flew out of his grasp, Matthias' Sniper Rifle misfired, then Aonghus' Eyelander sword burst into flames, causing him to drop it.

"Ach, was ist los (Gah, what's the matter)? You should never attack a wizard from behind," the wizard said, holding up his other hand which held a Freedom Staff. "That is where they are most expecting an attack to come from."

"I recognize that staff," Aonghus said, not believing what his eye saw. "Gerald? Is that you?"

"Jawohl (Yes sir)!" The wizard removed his dark cloak, revealing that it was Gerald, but he had no beard, and wore a pure white robe and hood. "I no longer go by Gerald the Red, but you may call me Gerald the White."

"Now I've seen everything!" Gavin remarked after picking up his Jag Wrench a few feet away.

"Well I'll be stuffed!" Matthias said, lowering his Sniper Rifle. "We thought you were dead."

"Aye, what happened after you fell into the chasm?" Aonghus asked. "How are you standing here before us?

"All in good time, kamerads (comrades)," Gerald said, approaching the three. "I want to hear about what's happened to you first."

"Your story demands more of an explanation, doc," Gavin said. "People don't just die and come back to life, unless you're a Zombie Spy that was sent by Merasmus to fool us."

"I am nothing of the sort," Gerald said, slightly offended. "To tell you the truth, I don't fully understand what happened to me, either."

This surprised all three of the mercenaries, who now looked at Gerald with genuine wonder.

Reluctantly, Gerald cleared his throat and explained, "While I still retain the knowledge from my previous life, my memories of the chasm at Double Cross are blurry. After I let go of the bridge, I remember falling down a long ways. I somehow managed to regain my Freedom Staff during the fall, and used what magic I had to attack the monster, even when we reached the bottom. I was never able to retrieve my Medi Gun, or the Syringe Gun for that matter, but I managed to hold my own as I fought an ongoing battle with the Bread Monster.

"While most of the fight took place in the chasm, a flash-flood occurred at some point, and that's where my memory gets hazy. I know I defeated the Bread Monster eventually, and it went careening off a waterfall, but I somehow managed to avoid the same fate. Everything went black afterwards, and I was standing at the gate to the Underworld. Then something prevented me from entering, and before I knew it, I was alive again."

All three mercenaries looked at one another, and then Aonghus said, "Alright, Gerald, if you really are a wizard now, then tell us where Mickey and Patten are."

"Oh, they're alive and well," Gerald said casually. "They are currently with Silas, a Horsemann who has taken an interest in them."

"But isn't that dangerous?" Matthias asked. "What if he decides to kill them?"

"I don't think he will," Gerald said, which made the three mercenaries give him confused looks. "Ever since Mann Manor was abandoned, the Headless Horsemann became somewhat inactive. They are no longer interested in pointless killing, and have instead taken to watching the ghosts that have become restless due to the recent grave robberies that Merasmus has committed to build his Zombie army."

"That doesn't assure us that the Scouts are safe," Gavin responded. "Even if the Horsemann are no longer killing mercenaries, they're still dangerous."

"I will not deny that they are capable of violence," replied Gerald. "But the person they hate the most right now is Merasmus, because his disturbance of the natural balance between life and death has forced the Horsemann out of their peaceful retirement in the Underworld. But they don't know what to do about it, and the two Scouts are going to help him decide. That might also explain why I was brought back to life."

"Well that's fine and all, but we've come all this way to look for those Scouts," Gavin said, though he was clearly confused by what Gerald just told him. "Don't we at least deserve to see them?"

"I understand your concern, Gavin," Gerald said, putting a hand on Gavin's shoulder. "You feel responsible for their capture at Hydro, and want to be forgiven."

This made Gavin flinch, and look up at Gerald. "How did you know about that?"

"Forgive my prying, but I just want to reassure you that the burden you carried this whole time no longer needs to be carried. You can let go now." As Gavin suddenly began crying, Gerald silently embraced him. After a while, Matthias and Aonghus joined him in a circle, and then when Gavin was finished, Gerald said, "You have done your part, but now the tide is changing, and we must be off to Rottenburg to deal with King Terenti."

Gerald then broke away from the small circle the mercenaries formed around Gavin, and sent a chirping whistle to the winds that blew above them. At first, the three mercenaries were perplexed, and then they saw four large European Robins flying towards them. They were slightly smaller than Archimedes, but big enough for one man to fly on each of them.

"Holy Dodgy! Those are mutated Red Army Robins," Matthias said, recognizing the birds instantly. "Unless this is some kind of illusion."

"This is no trick of your eyes, Matthias," Gerald said, standing back as the head Robin, which wore a bandolier of golden bullets around its body, landed in front of him. "These birds are as real as the Sniper Rifle you hold in your hand."

Not believing him, Matthias approached the Robin that was closest to him, and touched it. The Robin flapped its wings defensively, but it didn't fly away. Amazed, Matthias backed away.

"They will take us to Rottenburg much faster than on-foot, especially this one, whose name is Krasnoye," Gerald said, stroking the neck of the Robin with the bandolier. "He is the Red Army Robins' leader, and is the one who is keeping the other three Robins grounded. On his command only, they will fly with him."

So each mercenary took one Robin, then after Gerald sat on Krasnoye's back, he gave the same whistle. Immediately, the Robins took off, forcing the mercenaries to hold onto their necks to keep themselves from falling off. They were flying towards the mountains at a quick but steady speed, and it was only a few hours later that they saw the red-painted roofs of Rottenburg, the capital of the Alpine environment.

End of Chapter 18


	20. Chapter 19: Passage of the Basin

Chapter 19: The Passage of the Basin

While Gerald and the other mercenaries made their way to Rottenburg, Freddie and Steve were becoming increasingly dubious of their guide Mumble. For three straight days, they had been following the remains of a Cart rail that led them out of the canyon they had been in, but was now trailing along the cliffs of another. It also didn't help that Mumble had the habit of disappearing every now and then, which made the Steve worry that he was secretly planning to abandon them at some point.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that little twerp was taking us in circles," Steve muttered while he and Freddie were resting. "Just to confuse us so he can steal the Bomb."

"I know, Steve," Freddie replied, watching as Mumble ran into a tunnel some miles away.

"Then why are we still following him?"

Freddie took a bite out a Sandvich he pulled from the cooler and then said, "If it weren't for him, we would've been wandering through those canyons for days."

Before Steve could reply, Mumble came running out of the tunnel and signaled the two Scouts to follow. Reluctantly, they did, but it wasn't until several hours later that they finally met up with Mumble. He then pointed down the tunnel while making a series of sounds through his mask, while Freddie nodded along. Steve, meanwhile, was watching the sun as it sank below the cliffs on the western side.

"Mumble says we should camp here for the night, and wait until morning to go through the tunnel," Freddie said, after Mumble had finished talking.

"Ah, jeez, why should we stop now?" Steve asked. "There's still daylight left."

Freddie looked to Mumble, who shook his head vigorously. Then Freddie turned to Steve and said, "I don't think he's joking, Steve, so we should probably do as he says."

Steve was about to argue, but when he looked down the darkening tunnel, and then back at the setting sun, he nodded with hesitation.

The next morning, the Scouts and Mumble woke up to an overcast sky and an unnatural mist lingered in the air. After getting their things packed, Freddie and Steve followed Mumble into the tunnel, though he was being deliberately slow, so the two proceeded with caution. Once they reached the exit, the Scouts found themselves standing before a cluster of gray-colored buildings with the Cart rail winding through them and the cliffs closed in around them like a rocky prison. But what caught Freddie and Steve's attention the most was the scattered mounds of Robot parts and decomposed human skeletons.

"What the hell is this? Some kind of graveyard?" Steve asked sarcastically.

After Mumble made a string of gestures, Freddie said, "Mumble calls it the Deadwater Basin, though it used to be called Badwater Basin, and it was one of the southernmost areas the Cloned Mercenaries occupied until the Machine Wars were over. Apparently, there were so many bodies that there weren't enough graves to fill them all, so they left them out on the surface to decompose naturally, and then the area was abandoned shortly after."

"I can see why," Steve replied, putting a hand over his nose. "This place stinks worse than a compost pile!"

Mumble made a few more mutterings, which made Freddie's eyes widen, causing him to turn to Steve with a worried look. "Mumble also claims that the area is haunted by the ghosts of the Cloned Mercenaries, so we shouldn't stray from the Cart rails."

While Mumble led the way, Steve and Freddie followed behind, watching the piled bodies with suspicion. Then after they turned around a bend in the Cart rail, Steve asked, "How did you know this place used to be called Badwater Basin? Mumble couldn't have known that."

"Oh, I read about it in a book during our stay at Mountain Lab," Freddie explained.

"Sure wish I was there instead of here."

For a while, neither of the Scouts said anything as they followed Mumble, though the strange mist seemed to be getting thicker the further they went. Sometimes, Mumble's hunched form would disappear altogether, and so they had to move faster to catch up with him. During one such moment, Freddie ran ahead of Steve, and ended up running off the Cart rails. He wound up in a side room and then saw a skeleton next to his feet. It looked like it belonged to a Demoman, because it wore a patch over one of its eye-sockets, and its bony hand was positioned over its other eye. While Steve called for him in the distance, Freddie continued to stare at the Demoman skeleton, and before he knew it, the bony hand fell off, revealing a moving eyeball that was still inside its socket. Freddie tried to get away, but when he turned, skeletons of other mercenaries came out of the mist and surrounded him.

He was just about to reach for his Bat when someone pulled him away from the side room and out of the building the Cart rails ran through. To Freddie's surprise, it was Mumble. Before Freddie could say anything, Mumble made a sharp muttering sound and bounded away down the rails. Meanwhile, Steve came up and helped Freddie to his feet.

"What the hell was that crap? You nearly scared me to death when you didn't respond!" Steve said, agitated.

Freddie had nothing to say on why he went astray, but one thing did bother him. "Why did Mumble save me?"

Steve sighed. "He wants the Bomb, dummy."

"But if he wanted it so badly, he could've left me to be killed by those…things I saw."

"He didn't know where you were until you started screaming, so I don't think he would've let you die, anyway."

As Steve helped Freddie catch up to Mumble, the mist gradually lightened up. Once they reached the end of the Cart rail within a cluster of buildings, they were about to make their way over a fence when a roaring sound caught their attention. It sounded like it was coming through the air, and then as they looked to the southern cliffs beyond the fence, a growing shadow was flying towards them. Quickly, the Scouts and Mumble hid underneath the metal balcony of a nearby building as the shadow flew over them, followed by the loud roaring.

When the three of them looked up, they saw a single darkly-clad figure using a Rocket Launcher to leap into the air. It didn't take long for Freddie and Steve to recognize the figure as the Soldier Android who attacked them at Watchtower. While Mumble shivered from fear and constantly watched the rocket-jumping Android, Freddie gripped the Bomb, and occasionally let his thumb fiddle with the button on its topside. Steve noticed this and made Freddie let go of the Bomb. Naturally, Freddie was hesitant, but then he relaxed once he saw the Android Soldier jump out of sight. Once they were sure he was gone, the two Scouts and Mumble made their way over the fence and ran for the southern cliffs.

End of Chapter 19


	21. Chapter 20: King of the Bombpoint

**20****th**** Chapter! Can you believe it?! Thank you for reading and following my fanfic thus far!**

Chapter 20: The King of the Bombpoint

"Welcome, kamerads (comrades), to Rottenburg!" Gerald announced as the four landed their Red Army Robins on the rocks that marked the outside of a series of circular ledges where the Robots used to attack from during the Machine Wars. There, Gerald put on the black cloak he wore earlier to cover up the white one he was wearing.

At the bottom was a small half-circle that contained large boulders and grass that led up to the Main Gate, where a Heavy with a red Viking-style beard was standing guard. Fortunately, he hadn't noticed the four mercenaries yet, allowing them to dismount from the Red Army Robins, which flew off as soon as their leader, Krasnoye, took to the skies. The Heavy noticed the Robins leave, and rubbed the back of his bald head in confusion. Then he looked down and saw the four mercenaries approach him. He in turn came up to them, though his little legs could only carry him so far.

"Uh, hello, we are friends of King Terenti," Gerald said, stepping forward to meet the Heavy. "I am Gerald the Medic, and my companions are the Demoman Aonghus, the Sniper Matthias, and the Engineer Gavin."

"I am Igor, the ward of Rottenburg," the Heavy said, glaring at Gerald. "What business do you have with the king?"

"That is something that can only be discussed with King Terenti in person," Gerald answered. "We are allies, so there is no need to be hostile with us."

"These are dangerous times, Medic," Igor replied. "I will escort you to King Terenti myself, but you will have to leave your weapons at the Main Gate."

This surprised everyone.

"On whose orders?" Gerald asked.

"The king's advisor, Gaston Langue de Serpent, was the one who ordered it," Igor said with a straight face.

Aonghus gritted his teeth. "I'm not going to let that back-pokin' snake tell me what to do."

"Same here." Gavin chimed in. "I ain't leaving my Jag Wrench behind for nobody."

"Say what you will, but I can't let you pass if you refuse to follow orders," Igor said, and cracked his knuckles. "And you wouldn't want to fight me when I'm angry."

Gerald looked at his comrades, who were clinging to their weapons like their life depended on it, and at the glaring Igor. Then he sighed and said to the three mercenaries, "Give Igor your weapons, please. It would be foolish to draw blood here and now."

In turn the three mercenaries, after some hesitation, removed all their weapons and propped them up against the Main Gate. Once that was done, Gerald was about to step forward, but Igor still blocked his way. Irritated, Gerald asked, "What more do you want? We gave you our weapons."

"You haven't given me your staff," Igor replied, pointing at Gerald's Freedom Staff.

Gerald didn't let go of his Freedom Staff, and instead pretended to lean on it. "What, this? Langue de Serpent thinks walking sticks are dangerous too? Wuh ho ho!"

Igor raised his eyebrow, and when Gerald wouldn't budge, he sighed. "All right, you may take it inside, but the rest of you should keep an eye on your friend."

The three mercenaries, initially surprised, nodded to satisfy Igor, who in turn opened the Main Gate for them single-handedly and led them into Rottenburg. Like Harvest, it was a maze of buildings, but most of them were either shops or multi-story apartments. Also, none of the buildings were color-coded, so there was a monochrome consistency. The people parted as Igor and the other mercenaries navigated the cobblestone streets towards the Bombpoint, which was a gaping hole that was created as a result of numerous Robot-made bombs exploding in that vicinity during the Machine Wars. At times, Aonghus thought he saw a woman wearing dark shades, a blue dress, and matching scarf standing in the alley-ways they passed, only to disappear a few seconds later.

Once they reached the entrance to Bombpoint, which was obscured by a maze of wooden crates, Igor turned to the four mercenaries and said, "I must return to take my place at the Main Gate, but you will find the king on the other side of these boxes."

"Danke (Thank-you), kamerad," Gerald replied.

Seeming to understand what Gerald said, Igor bowed low and walked back the way they came. On the other side of the crate maze, the four mercenaries beheld an old Heavy, wearing a Mongolian-style winter hat for a crown with a long white beard, leaning weakly on his throne, which was placed above a platform made of the same crates that barricaded the Bombpoint. To the Heavy's left stood a Spy wearing a red Distinguished Rogue suit-jacket with a black waist-coat, red trousers, and a matching black Foul Cowl cape to cover his shoulders. He was just about to light a cigarette when the Spy noticed Gerald, and he in turn whispered something to the old Heavy. Around the throne stood several Heavies wearing similar bear-claws the Bears of Alpine wore but they had wolf-skins on their heads instead of bear-skin.

"Greetings, King Terenti," Gerald said, bowing respectfully. The other mercenaries followed, though they were slightly cautious. "You seemed to have aged quite a bit since the last time I saw you."

"Don't let his kind words sway you," the Spy said abruptly. "Gerald the Red is here to bring trouble to your kingdom, therefore he is not welcome."

After a long pause, King Terenti nodded.

For a brief moment, the Spy grinned, and then he walked down from the crates toward Gerald. "You heard the fat man! If you and your colleagues don't walk away, we will be forced to arrest you."

"Would you like a second opinion, Gaston?" Gerald responded, waving his Freedom Staff in front of the Spy.

Immediately the Spy, Gaston, swore under his breath and backed away. "Help! I require assistance!"

Suddenly, three of the wolf-skin-clad Heavies charged at Gerald. Luckily, Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin managed to beat them back with their bare fists. Of course, the Heavies managed to put up a good fight due to their incredible strength, but were overpowered due to the quick maneuvering the three mercenaries pulled off. In the meantime, Gerald walked toward King Terenti, who started to squirm in his chair, then Gaston took out a Knife. He was about to stab Gerald in the back when Gavin kicked him so hard that he fell over.

"Well, this was a disappointment," Gaston muttered, and tried to crawl away.

Gavin noticed and stepped on Gaston's cape and held him by the collar of his suit-jacket. "Dominated, you snake!"

"King Terenti, what has become of you?" Gerald said, climbing up the crates. "You were a great king, and you still are, but you've let infectious worms eat your ears out, leaving the sick man that I see before me. Thus, I shall purge your sickness from you!"

Gerald closed his eyes, and waved his right hand in front of King Terenti's face. In response, King Terenti only laughed. This surprised Gerald and the other mercenaries after they had managed to dominate the wolf-skin-clad Heavies.

"Did you think you could beat me?" King Terenti said in an unnaturally bellowing voice. "Your power is weak, Gerald, and nothing you can do will change that!"

"I know that voice," Gerald said, and removed his black cloak, revealing the white one that shined like a new star underneath. "It was you, Merasmus, who hired Gaston to weaken King Terenti in mind and body so that you could control him through your magic! But today is a new day for Rottenburg, which has ignored the outside world for too long, now awaken, King Terenti, and reclaim your kingdom!"

King Terenti howled as if he were in pain while Gerald waved his Freedom Staff in front of him.

"Uncle!"

The same woman Aonghus saw during their walk to the Bombpoint emerged from the shadows, and tried to run towards King Terenti. But Aonghus held her back, and together they watched as King Terenti hit his head against the back of his throne as a result of the invisible force from Gerald's Freedom Staff, and passed out. But after a few seconds, he woke up, and as he surveyed the Bombpoint in confusion, his beard shortened, going from white to light-blond, and while he still looked old, there now seemed to be an aura of strength around him. To Aonghus' surprise, the woman disappeared behind him and reappeared a few seconds later in front of King Terenti.

"Uncle Terenti," the woman said, getting the king's attention. "Are you all right?"

"Ivana," King Terenti said, recognizing the woman. Then he turned to Gerald. "Doktor Gerald. Ugh, I do not feel right."

"Perhaps your strength will come back once you hold your Minigun again," Gerald said.

Immediately, a Heavy wearing a bearskin head left the Bombpoint, then a few minutes later, Igor appeared carrying a freshly-polished Minigun, which was a privileged weapon among the Kings of Alpine since very few of them remained after the Machine Wars either because they were destroyed or rusted from the lack of use. King Terenti took the Minigun by the handle, and stood up from his throne, swinging the Minigun right and left. Meanwhile, Gaston was squirming under Gavin's grasp, which got Terenti's attention.

"You!" Terenti yelled, pointing the Minigun at Gaston, which in turn caused Gavin to back away. "Yes, you! You are dead!"

But before Terenti could pull the trigger, Gerald placed his Freedom Staff in front of the Minigun's shaft.

"You are all incompetent cowards!" Gaston remarked, and laughed as he vanished before everyone's eyes.

"Let him go," Gerald said to Terenti. "He has nowhere to run except to Hightower where his master, Merasmus, resides."

Terenti put down his Minigun, and then he left the Bombpoint, walking past the maze of crates, and up onto a nearby platform while the people passing below stopped to stare at him. This was the first time they had seen their king since he isolated himself a few months ago. Gerald walked up beside him, and watched as Terenti surveyed the gathering people.

"Where is my son?" Terenti asked outloud.

"Terentius is dead," Ivana said, appearing behind Gerald and Terenti. "He had been sick for a while, most likely poisoned by Gaston, and then he died last night."

"My liege!" shouted a Heavy guard who was running up the stairs to the platform. "There is a large horde of Zombies heading towards Rottenburg!"

Ivana and Gerald flinched, while Terenti frowned.

"How fast is the horde moving, and when will they arrive here?" Terenti asked.

"They are covering ten miles per hour, and by the time they reach Rottenburg, it will be nighttime," the guard answered.

For a few minutes, Terenti didn't say anything, and then he ordered, "Tell the people of Rottenburg to pack food and clothes, but to leave their valuables behind. We will be heading for DeGroot Keep before the sun goes down, after we give a proper burial for my son."

They found Terentius' corpse rotting in a shed, even though Gaston claimed he would take care of the burial. So that afternoon, all the people of Rottenburg gathered along both sides of the street, singing sad Russian songs while the funeral procession led by Terenti and Ivana walked past them. The body had been properly dressed and was wrapped in a hand-sewn Soviet Russian flag, being carried on the backs of four Heavies, while Gerald and the other mercenaries followed behind with their weapons reclaimed.

Eventually, the procession weaved its way to the Main Gate, then they walked across the field and towards a large cave where the Robot Tanks used to come from. Terenti, Ivana, and the four Heavies carrying Terentius went inside the cave, while Gerald and the mercenaries waited on the field along with the town's people. After a couple hours, Terenti, Ivana, and the four Heavies emerged from the cave with tear-stained eyes and low heads. While the town people went back through the Main Gate, Gerald told Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin to follow Ivana and the four Heavies while he stayed with Terenti.

"How could this happen?" Terenti asked, looking back at the cave. "Where did we go so wrong?"

"There is no point in blaming ourselves," Gerald said. "Gaston may have been a good man at one point, but Merasmus had persuaded him to weaken your sense of judgment as the Zombies scoured your lands. His motivation was most likely spurred by the promise of some kind of reward."

Terenti watched Ivana as she disappeared behind the Main Gate. "I knew he had his eyes on her for a long time, because she too is a Spy, at least on her mother's side. But I was powerless to stop him. If you hadn't shown up, I would've been crawling on my hands and knees like a baby."

"But what matters is that you are alive and well. As for your son, I regret that I could not save him, but at least he is in a better place."

For a long time, Terenti howled with grief, and all the people of Rottenburg heard it, but pretended not to listen for the sake of respect. Instead, they focused on packing their belongings, and started to move towards the Main Gate. In the meantime, Terenti held a small feast that consisted of Sandviches and Hams for Gerald and the mercenaries as a way of thanking them for saving him.

"I understand that you want to protect your people," Gerald said between bites. "But it would be more practical if you fought the Zombies here."

"And why is that?" Terenti said calmly as he gorged on one Ham in each fist.

"There are no exits from DeGroot Keep, so you will only be trapping yourselves if the Zombies manage to get past your defenses."

"DeGroot Keep is the most impenetrable fortress in the Alpine area, and with you and your mercenaries fighting on our side, we cannot lose!"

"Ja (Yes), but just in case things go bad, I'm going to look for reinforcements, and meet you at DeGroot Keep afterwards."

This surprised everyone, especially Terenti.

"When will you come with these 'reinforcements'?" Terenti asked cautiously.

Gerald smiled and said, "Look for me to the Eastern boulder on the dawn of the fourth day."

End of Chapter 20


	22. Chapter 21: The Zombie Horde

Chapter 21: The Zombie Horde

After Gerald left on the back of Krasnoye, King Terenti and his men marched out of Rottenburg's Main Gate, followed by the town's citizens with Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin trailing alongside. They climbed up to the top of the circular ledges where the Red Army Robins had landed earlier that day, and then they made their way through the thick pinewood forests towards the larger mountains in the distance, where DeGroot Keep lay. The first day went relatively smooth with no Zombies coming near them. Then the second day came, and the party found themselves at the entrance to the abandoned Sawmill area.

"Uncle, are you sure this path is safe?" Ivana asked nervously.

Terenti nodded. "Yes."

As Terenti led the way, Ivana fell behind until she was right next to Aonghus, who was carrying his Eyelander sword casually over his shoulder.

"Don't worry your pretty little head off, lassie," Aonghus said to Ivana. "Your father knows what he's doing."

"I hope so," Ivana replied, and then she noticed the red sash Aonghus wore against his blue Demoman uniform. "By the way, what is that sash for?"

"Ah, this is a memento from my beloved," Aonghus answered unabashedly.

"Oh." Ivana blushed slightly and then asked, "Is she beautiful?"

"Her eyes are like newly-polished ebony stones."

"I see."

Ivana then walked ahead of Aonghus, and eventually started talking with Gavin. He told her all about the Engineer life, including female Engineers, which were mostly regarded as myth because they wore the same uniforms as male Engineers. The only difference was that they wore bandanas on their heads instead of helmets. She laughed with delight, even when Gavin accidently tripped over his own two feet. Aonghus watched them from behind, and was surprised when he noticed Terenti walking up to him.

"She seems to have taken a liking to the Engineer," Terenti said, watching Ivana. "It is good to see her smile, considering what she's been through. Her parents died when she was young, her brother Ivan was banished, and now her cousin Terentius is gone. Unless Ivan and the other Bears of Alpine forgive me and return to us, Ivana is most likely going to be the next heir to the throne."

Before Aonghus could answer Terenti, Matthias waved from one of the rooftops ahead of them and shouted, "A small horde of Zombies are approaching Sawmill from the western side at twenty miles per hour!"

"Bloody hell!" Aonghus cursed. "Merasmus must've figured out that we'd left Rottenburg."

Upon hearing Matthias' words, the people stopped and started to wander around in circles nervously, causing Terenti to shout at the top of his lungs, "Everyone, look at me!"

The people stopped and looked to their king, including Ivana.

"Do not panic! That is exactly what they want! The three mercenaries, some guards, and I will stay here to fight off the Zombies while Ivana and the other guards will escort the rest to DeGroot Keep by way of the cave behind the waterfall."

Ivana hesitated. "But uncle—

"Go! Go! Go!" Terenti insisted, waving his Minigun in the direction of the waterfall.

So Ivana did what he said, and led the group of people towards the waterfall that stood behind a couple of sheds off to the side of the path that ran down the middle of Sawmill. Meanwhile, Terenti turned the Minigun on, causing its six shafts to spin, and the other two mercenaries took out their weapons. Matthias decided to stay on the roof, and waited with his Sniper Rifle fully-loaded. The Zombies came from behind a bend in the road, consisting mostly of Scouts and Soldiers. Matthias fired the first shots at the backs of their heads, causing them to instantly die. Then Aonghus and Gavin charged forward beating up any Zombies that came their way, with Terenti and his guards bringing up the rear.

Though the Minigun proved useful in mowing down most of the Zombies, some started to break off from the main horde and head towards the waterfall. Aonghus noticed and ran up along the nearby cliffs to where he was standing directly above the waterfall, allowing him a good view of the approaching Zombies. He then took out a Chargin' Targe shield he found in the storage-room back at Hydro, and threw it like a Frisbee at the first Zombie to enter the pool at the waterfall's feet. It cut the Zombie's head clean off in one stroke and made its way back to Aonghus.

"Oh, they're going to have to glue you back together…in Hell!" Aonghus shouted, getting the other Zombies' attention as he threw the shield at their heads, knocking them off in a similar fashion to the first one.

He heard footsteps behind him, and Aonghus turned to see a Zombie Scout running directly towards him. In self-defense, Aonghus pulled out his Eyelander sword, and raised it to cut the Zombie Scout in half. But the Zombie Scout proved quicker, and head-butted Aonghus right in the chest, causing him to lose his footing. Then just as Aonghus fell over the edge of the waterfall, he impaled the Zombie Scout with his Eyelander sword, causing it to kneel on the rocks in pain.

After most of the Zombies had been slaughtered, Terenti, Matthias, Gavin, and the remaining Heavies noticed that Aonghus was missing. So they picked up any surviving Zombies, and questioned them before killing them like the others. Eventually, Gavin got up to the top of the waterfall, and found the wounded Zombie Scout with Aonghus' sword sticking out of his shoulder. He was trying to pull it out, but this only broke what remained of his deteriorated arms further, until Gavin knocked the Zombie Scout down with the heel of his boot and pulled the Eyelander Sword out all the way.

"**Thanks for that, tough guy**," the Zombie Scout said, and then he yelped when Gavin stepped onto his exposed rib-cage and pointed the sword directly at his throat.

"Where did you get this sword, boy?" Gavin said in a low, growling voice.

"**The one-eyed freak that was standing here had it, and then he stabbed me as he went right over the edge**."

"You're not lyin', are you?" Gavin applied more pressure to his boot, which in turn caused the Zombie Scout's rib-cage to fracture.

"**Aaugh! I swear I'm not lying! I saw him plummet off the top of this waterfall with my own two eyes, which your friend didn't have!**"

At that, Gavin pierced the Zombie Scout's throat, causing it to make gurgling sounds.

"Oi, Gavin!" Matthias shouted, running up to him. "What did that Zombie say to you?"

"He said he saw Aonghus plummet off the waterfall, and he had this sword struck in his shoulder," Gavin responded, taking the Eyelander sword out of the dying Zombie and tossing it to Matthias, who caught it with both hands.

While Matthias looked at the sword in disbelief, Gavin proceeded to take his Jag Wrench out, and mash the Zombie Scout's head until it was nothing but a puddle of blood and decayed skin, which in turn caused the rest of the Zombie's body to go limp. By the time Matthias and Gavin told Terenti what happened, the overcast sky began to rain hard. So they went to the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, but they could find no trace of Aonghus anywhere. Puzzled, and ultimately sad, the remaining mercenaries, Terenti, and the other Heavies went into the cave behind the waterfall to catch up to Ivana and the rest of the people who were probably at DeGroot Keep by now, waiting for them.

A few seconds after they left, Aonghus emerged out of the pool gasping for air. He had hit a rock when he fell in, and was knocked out while the mercenaries searched for him. But he was too weak to call after them or swim to the shore, so he settled on a floating log. As the rain splashed around him, the pool's water level rose, and then Aonghus felt small hands drag him away from the log and into something that looked like a van.

End of Chapter 21


	23. Chapter 22: The Entrance Is Blocked

Chapter 22: The Entrance to Coal Town Is Blocked

After passing through the Badwater Basin, or Deadwater Basin, Mumble seemed to change, at least from Freddie's perspective. He didn't seem as reluctant to lead them as he did before, and there was one night where Freddie thought he heard Mumble talking to himself. But Steve still didn't trust Mumble, and this occasionally put him at odds with Freddie.

However, when the canyons ended and the sandy desert began, the two Scouts felt relieved, but at the same time they were worried. On the one hand, this meant that they were getting closer to the Moving Fortress, but on the other, they were more exposed due to the lack of cover in this barren landscape. For miles, none of them saw a Robot in sight, but they followed Mumble as he dashed between small cliffs and large boulders that were scattered across. Then on the second day they did this, Freddie and Steve heard several footsteps marching behind a cliff that was in front of them, followed by loud ticking sounds. Cautiously, they climbed up to the top and crawled on their hands and knees to the opposite end with Mumble giddily crawling ahead of them. Once they got to the edge, they beheld a frightening sight.

"I cannot believe it," Freddie said in a loud whisper. "We're right in front of Coal Town, with the Moving Fortress just south of it."

A few feet from the cliff Freddie and Steve were on, there stood a ring of freshly-painted Tanks surrounding a small town, which was called Coal Town back in the Days of RED and BLU, that looked deserted, but there was a constant humming in the air, and it was mainly coming from the Moving Fortress, which stood like an imposing figure a couple miles south of Coal Town. Looking away from it, Freddie noticed the legion of Robot Soldiers that were marching in a uniform pattern towards the ring of Tanks. Then a loud electronic beeping noise came from one of the taller buildings in Coal Town, forcing Freddie, Steve, and Mumble to cover their ears. In turn, the Tanks started to move, with the ones on the left turning to face the ones on the right, and vice versa. Next, the two distinct lines of Tanks drove backwards from one another, creating a wide opening for the Robot Soldiers to pass through.

Not wanting to waste any time, Freddie hastily climbed down the cliff, but he slipped on the last step and fell behind a large boulder that stood below the cliff. This got the attention of a couple of Robot Soldiers, who broke off from the main legion and walked towards the boulder. Steve and Mumble watched nervously, but then just before the Robot Soldiers inspected the boulder, Freddie turned on the Invis Watch and disappeared. So by the time the Robot Soldiers looked, they saw nothing, and then left to join the legion just as the last ones were heading past the Tanks. Once they were gone, Steve and Mumble climbed down the cliff and joined Freddie. When the three of them looked from behind the boulder, the two Robot Soldiers passed the Tanks, and the same beeping sound blared across the desert.

"Well, I guess it's now or never," Freddie said, and just as he was about to make a dash to the opening, Mumble held him back. "What is wrong with you? If we don't get over there now, we'll never get to the Moving Fortress!"

Mumble in turn responded with a bunch of loud, hasty mumblings.

"What do you mean there's another way? Why didn't you tell us before?!"

"What the hell's going on?" Steve asked in an irritated tone of voice.

Freddie sighed. "Mumble thinks if we try to run towards the Coal Town entrance, we'll get spotted by the Robots and get killed. He says there's another way to the Moving Fortress that's more hidden than this one."

"Why are we still listening to this creep? Sure, he got us out of the canyons, but now he wants us to take a completely different direction when we've got a perfectly good opportunity to get into the Moving Fortress right in front of us!"

But when Freddie and Steve looked back at Coal Town, the two branches of Tanks were already moving towards one another to close the circle once more. Freddie tried to move, but Mumble's grip was tighter, and so he watched as the Tanks resumed their circle and former positions. Steve looked dumbfounded, and then he let his arms fall at his sides.

"Well, I guess we have no choice but to take the other way Mumble was talking about," Steve said, and watched as Mumble bounded towards a boulder that was southeast from them. Then as Freddie followed him, Steve said to himself, "I think we could've made it. We're Scouts, for crying out loud!"

End of Chapter 22


	24. Chapter 23: Ebony

Chapter 23: Ebony

When Aonghus opened his eyes, he saw Ava looking down at him, and then he felt pain all over. He tried to sit up, but Ava gently pushed him down. The noon sun shone overhead, and there was a gentle breeze in the air.

"Ava," Aonghus said weakly. "Am I dreaming?"

"You're at Mountain Lab, love," Ava responded, stroking Aonghus' cheek. "I was able to find you with a tracking device I had Helen install in the sash she gave you from me, and then I brought you here."

"I see. You were watching over me like the guardian angel that you are." Aonghus stopped Ava's hand, and held it tightly in his big hand. "But I am needed elsewhere."

"Stay for a little while, love," Ava replied, then she bent over and kissed Aonghus. "At least until you recover."

So the two of them lay together on the platform that was attached to a two-story barn next to a tunnel for what seemed like hours. Then Ava briefly left Aonghus to get some water from the waterfall behind the place where the BLU mercenary clones used to spawn, only to find Saxton standing there. She ignored him as she got into the boat, but Saxton managed to get in before she took off from the dock.

"You can't keep him here forever," Saxton said firmly, picking up the paddles. "There are people who need him."

"I know that, father," Ava replied folding her arms. "But he could've drowned if I hadn't shown up."

"What happens to him is no longer your business." Saxton paddled a few massive strokes, and then they were at the waterfall. "I'm sending you away to Manhattan tonight."

"I'm not going," Ava said as she filled the canteen with water from the waterfall. "I have chosen to stay with Aonghus, and I don't want an Australium-powered body."

Saxton was speechless for a few moments, and then he crushed the paddles he held. "Are you out of your mind, Ava? If you stay here, there's the chance that Gray Mann will destroy this whole country! But even if he doesn't, you will still have to face death! Aonghus may bring you happiness, but there will come a time when he will pass on, and if you're still alive by then, his death will only make the last years of your life miserable."

"How is that any different from your situation?" Ava retorted. "The Australium in this country is all dug up, and that's why you want to move back to Australia. But once there's no more Australium in the world, you too will die."

After that, neither of them spoke as Saxton used was left of the paddles to take Ava back to the dock, and then she left to find Aonghus. But when she got to the platform, Aonghus was no longer there. Shocked, Ava walked up and down the dirt-covered road that ran through Mountain Lab calling his name, and then she found him near the entrance to the RED base, inspecting the orange truck that was parked next to the Control Point.

"Planning to leave soon, love?" Ava asked. When Aonghus didn't respond, she said, "I brought you some water."

"Thanks, Ava," Aonghus said, though he seemed reluctant. "But could you also do something else for me?"

"Anything, love."

"Well, your father talked to be about how he was planning to send you to Manhattan, and I think you should go."

Ava's arms froze, and she accidently dropped the canteen. "Aonghus, how could you ask me to do that? Don't you love me?"

"Of course I love you, and that's why I'm asking you to do this. I don't know if we're going to win or not, but I wouldn't want you around in case we lose."

"Then I'll fight by your side until the very end!"

"Ava, don't say that! I don't want you to get hurt, and you would be much safer in Australia than in America." Aonghus sighed, and climbed into the driver's seat. "I'm sorry."

While Ava picked up the canteen, Aonghus turned the ignition key, and drove the truck out of Mountain Lab at an accelerating pace.

End of Chapter 23


	25. Chapter 24: Hightower Unleashed

Chapter 24: Hightower Unleashed

During Gerald's reunion with the other mercenaries, Mickey and Patten were down at the bottom of the hole in the floorboards inside Mann Manor. They didn't like it, but Silas was the one who brought them there as 'representatives' for the gathering of Headless Horsemann that was going to take place, which was considered special because such gatherings were rare. The other unfortunate thing was that the gathering was at midnight.

"This sucks!" Mickey complained. "I can't tell what time it is, my stomach is killing me, and—

"Will you shut up for one second, pal?" Patten responded irritably. "You've been complaining for a while, and it's really starting to get on my nerves!"

"Well, I can't help it if Silas left us a crummy ladder that we can't use!"

The two Scouts looked at the dismal-looking ladder that lay at their feet. Earlier, they tried to step on it, but the first rung broke, and then the one after that. This meant that they had no access to food or water for what felt like several hours.

"Maybe there's a way out of here this way," Patten said, getting up on his feet and heading towards the darkness that clung to the edges of the hole. "There's bound to be an opening somewhere."

Mickey looked dubiously at Patten as he walked away. "No wonder everyone says the Tyke Scouts are all a bunch of frickin' morons."

"What did you say?" Patten snapped, turning to Mickey.

"Nothing!" Mickey said, holding his hands up in surrender. Then he got up and followed Patten. "Let's go find this so-called opening already."

They walked the circumference of the hole for a while, and then Mickey found an underground tunnel that was buried under a pile of decayed wood, which forced them to crawl on their hands and knees until they came up underneath the platform of another Control Point that was located inside a large shed that faced the western side of the mansion. From there, the Scouts made their way to the garden for food, but all they found were rotten pumpkins and radishes. But they managed to find adequate water in a well near the garden, and just as they were about to drink from it, a few large shadows passed over them. The two Scouts looked up, and were amazed to see four large birds flying overhead with Gerald and the other mercenaries riding them. Neither of them spoke, and then once the birds disappeared into the setting sun, they shook their heads as if they had just seen a mirage. After that, they drank the well-water to their heart's content, and managed to eat some of the rotten vegetables because of their immense hunger.

When the sun set below the mountains in the distance, Mickey said, "We should probably get back to the hole. Silas might be wondering where we are."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Patten said, though he sounded reluctant.

Then just as they were about to head underneath the Control Point, a strange but menacing laughter filled the air. The two Scouts recognized it as Silas' voice, and then the sky overhead seemed to darken. Next, the ground started to shake as several heavy footsteps came bounding toward the cemetery, which in turn made the Scouts run over there to see what was going on. By the time they got there, about a dozen Headless Horsemenn had gathered there, with Silas among them. They greeted one another in a series of incoherent growls and murmurings, which Mickey and Patten guessed was their natural language. After the initial greetings, which went on till the stars were visible in the dark sky overhead, Silas looked over in the Scouts' direction, and motioned them to come over.

"I thought the meeting was going to take place in the hole," Mickey said immediately after seating himself on one of the tombstones.

"_**I thought so too, but apparently I was wrong,**_" Silas replied, shrugging his bony shoulders casually. "_**When you're as old as I am, you tend to forget things easily. In fact, I forgot I left you two in the hole in the first place.**_"

"This is a real frickin' embarrassment," Patten muttered as he seated himself on a tombstone right next to Mickey's.

"_**Now that our mortal visitors are here, let us begin the meeting,**_" Silas addressed to the other Horsemenn. "_**We are gathered here to decide if we should go to war against Merasmus or not.**_"

After two nights had gone by, the talk was done, and Silas nudged the two Scouts, who had fallen asleep behind the two gravestones they sat on earlier. Initially, they were surprised, but when they realized it was Silas, Mickey and Patten were strangely relieved. The other Horsemenn crowded behind Silas, staring at the Scouts with curious fascination, as if an old memory from long ago suddenly came to them.

"_**My fellow Scouts**_," Silas began. "_**We have agreed that you do not work for Merasmus**_."

Patten blinked. "Uh, that's a good thing, right?"

"But what about the war you were talking about?" Mickey asked.

Silas turned to the Horsemenn behind him, who nodded in turn. "_**Our desire for rest is stronger than having to stay on this mortal plane any longer than we already have. So, we shall march to Hightower under the cover of darkness, and remind that Wizard that he is not as powerful as he thinks he is.**_"

"Can we come with you? We know how to fight, and we can run real fast too!" Mickey bragged in a clearly excited tone of voice. "Just give us some weapons, and we're good to go!"

Silas scratched the side of his Jack-O-Lantern head. "_**The weapons that we used to have were stolen by Merasmus when he raided the graves here, but there may be some hidden somewhere on these grounds.**_"

While the Headless Horsemenn left to rest for the battle ahead, the two Scouts looked around the premises for any possible weapons. Like Silas had said, most of the weapons were gone, then they came into a shed that was filled with coffins. Fortunately, they were empty, but to Patten's surprise, one was filled with a variety of guns and ammo.

"Sweet!" Mickey said, picking up a Scattergun and filling it with ammo.

After Patten did the same with his Force-A-Nature gun, the two walked out into the garden, and tested their newfound weapons. To their surprise, they still worked despite the rusty barrels and worn-out wooden handles. So they decided to take as much ammo as they could carry in their pockets, while they tied the guns to their backs using rags taken from an old scarecrow that had fallen over due to wooden pole decaying from age.

"Mickey, are you sure you wanna get involved in this war?" Patten asked as the two of them were dozing by the Control Point in the big shed. "We could still leave and head back to Harvest."

"But we can't walk away now," Mickey replied. "Our friends are risking their lives out there, wherever they may be, and there may not be a Harvest to go back to if Gray Mann wins. If we can take Merasmus down, we'd be doing everyone who is threatened by him a huge favor."

"Yeah, but you know we have a higher chance of dyin' than those axe-wielding pumpkin heads, and they don't seem like the type to go down very easily."

"But when has death stopped us? We accompanied Freddie and Steve, didn't we?"

As night fell over Mann Manor once more, the Headless Horsemann returned to the cemetery, where Mickey and Patten were waiting for them with their weapons in tow. Silas picked them up and put them on his bony but surprisingly sturdy shoulders. The two Scouts held on as Silas bounded out of the cemetery and down the mountainside with the other Horsemann in tow. By the time they left the mountains, the sky was starting to glow, and then just as the first rays of sunlight hit them, Silas let out that same menacing laughter which dimmed the light from the sun to where it was almost like twilight. The Horsemann bounded across the desert without any need to stop, while Mickey and Patten did their best not to hold them up. When they got close to Hightower, they saw several legions of Zombies marching down the cliff the area was located on, making their way up a river valley that led into the mountains. Meanwhile, Mickey and Patten saw the ghosts, who had followed the Horsemann like sheep, now flying in the direction of the Zombies.

"I wonder if they're leaving to reclaim their lost bodies," Patten wondered outloud.

"_**That is exactly what they are going to do, but now that Hightower is empty of its armies, the Wizard is more vulnerable,**_" Silas said, and motioned the Horsemenn forward.

End of Chapter 24


End file.
